Coins, Chinese, Wagga

Qing dynasty coins found in Wagga

Image Courtesy of: Museum of the Riverina

Qing dynasty coins found in Wagga. Use is unclear but possibly as gambling markers. No exchange value in NSW

"In 2006 a number of Qing Dynasty coins were uncovered at the northern end of Fitzmaurice Street in Wagga Wagga. Originating in China they are tangible evidence of the Chinese ‘camp’ located there, alongside the Murrumbidgee River, in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The story behind the coins reveal one of the many layers of the town’s history.” "By the end of the nineteenth century the Chinese settlement at Wagga straddled either side of Fitzmaurice Street. The area occupied was leased from European landholders. In 1884 the Chinese community was noted to number 223 people, this included 194 Chinese men, one Chinese and six European who were women married to Chinese men, along with sixteen children."

Source: Storyplace, Once Out of View: The Historic Chinese Community at Wagga Revealed

“The money passed was in Chinese coin but I believe they often play for English money."

The Manaro Mercury, and Cooma and Bombala Advertiser, 6 March 1872, p.2.

Coins, Chinese found Wagga

Image Courtesy of: Museum of the Riverina