China Kwangtung (Kwang-Tung, Canton) 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 Cents 1912 to 1924

The Chinese province of Guangdong (also designated Kwangtung, Kwang-Tung, or Canton), in southeastern mainland China, issued several different types of coins. The CoinQuest page for Kwangtung dragon coins appears at this link. This page applies to bronze and silver coins with large denominations 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 cents in Arabic numerals on one side and Chinese characters on the other. There are Kwangtung coins with other themes also, such as flags and busts of leading figures.

Pricing Chinese coins is a difficult task these days for two reasons: (1) they are exploding into numismatic (coin collector) markets and catalogers have a hard time keeping up, and (2) there is a very healthy counterfeiting industry in China which is flooding the market with fakes. If you have a nice-looking coin from Kwangtung, take it for an in-person inspection by a knowledgeable collector or coin dealer. Generally, Chinese coins that are in decent condition are either very valuable or very fake!

Here are some approximate catalog values for these coins. CoinQuest has used both catalog listings and recent selling prices to derive these numbers.

1 CENT (bronze)
worn: $1 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $5
well preserved: $15
fully uncirculated: $60

2 CENTS (bronze)
worn: $12 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $50
well preserved: $120
fully uncirculated: $250

5 CENTS (copper-nickel)
worn: $1 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $3
well preserved: $8
fully uncirculated: $20

10 CENTS (silver)
worn: $3 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $8
well preserved: $15
fully uncirculated: $30

20 CENTS (silver)
worn: $5 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $12
well preserved: $25
fully uncirculated: $65
cqLastNotify