(sold for $177.0)

1909, China, Yunnan Province. Beautiful Silver 50 Cents (½ Dragon Dollar) Coin.

State: China (Empire) Denomination: 50 Cents Region: Yunnan Province Mint Period: 1909-1911 Reference: Kann 167, KM-Y#259. Condition: Scratches in fields, otherwise VF-XF! Weight: 13.15gm Diameter: 33mm Material: Silver

Obverse: Chinese dragon within clouds, around half pearl with six flames. English legends seperated by rosettes around. Legend. YUN - NAN - PROVINCE * 3 MACE AND 6 CANDAREENS * Reverse: Four chinese characters (denomination) around Manchu characters. Legend (translated) : "Made in Yunnan Province * 3 Mace 6 Candareens *"

Yunnan (??, literally "South of the Clouds") is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country. The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Vietnam.

Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with high elevations in the northwest and low elevations in the southeast. Most of the population lives in the eastern part of the province. In the west, the relative height from mountain peaks to river valleys can be as much as 3,000 m. Yunnan is rich in natural resources and has the largest diversity of plant life in China. Of the approximately 30,000 species of higher plants in China, Yunnan has over 17,000.

Yunnan became part of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) during 2nd century BC. It became the seat of a Tibeto-Burman speaking kingdom known as Nanzhao in the 8th century. Nanzhao was multi-ethnic, but the elite most likely spoke a language close to Yi and modern Burmese. The Mongols conquered the region in the 13th century, with local control exercised by warlords until the 1930s. As with other parts of China's southwest, Japanese occupation in the north during World War II forced a migration of Chinese into the region. Ethnic minorities in Yunnan account for about 34 percent of its total population. Major ethnic groups include Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai and Miao.

Only 1$ shipping for each additional item purchesed!