Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Yuan Shikai coinage/archive1: Difference between revisions

Yuan Shikai coinage (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

Nominator(s): Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 10:34, 19 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The Republic of China’s standard silver yuan coin throughout much of its existence bore the image of a man who tried to destroy the republic and crown himself emperor. Yuan’s yuan was a decent quality silver coin which was produced in such quantities it was able to drive out most of the Western silver coins which dominated the economy beforehand. Now it is beloved by many Western collectors, under the undeniably pretty funny mistranslation “fatman dollar”. I enjoyed writing this, and I hope you enjoy reading it! Pinging Wehwalt, who is the eminent expert on coin articles, and Chipmunkdavis who did the GAN review. Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 10:38, 19 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

File:Yuan Shikai Dollar Year 3 Obverse.jpg and File:Yuan Shikai Dollar Year 3 Reverse.jpg require a copyright tag for the image, and one for the underlying coin.

File:Yuan Shikai2 (cropped).jpg requires proof of publication to start the period alleged to have expired, and also needs a US copyright tags.

• • Swapped in one with an established publication date (in the US, to make things easier).-G

Glad to see this at FAC. I’ll try to do a full review later.–Wehwalt (talk) 13:48, 19 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much! Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 15:34, 19 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• as well as competition between the yuan and tael weights. This parses a bit oddly. At first I read it as comparing yuan weights to tael weights, but that’s not right, so rephrase to make that more clear.
• It featured a portrait of the current president, Yuan Shikai “current president” makes me think “The person who is president at the time this article is being read”. Maybe “then current president”? Or, maybe it’s actually OK as it is? Also, is the “yuan” as a unit of currency named after Yuan Shikai?

• MOS:PERSONOROFFICE says The construction then-President Nixon is often superfluous, unless the context calls for distinctions between periods of Nixon’s career, so I think it’s fine like that
• Also no, no relation – though it is really funny they share a name; the tones are even the same.-G

• The first design for a dollar featuring Yuan Shikai, a commemorative, non-circulating silver dollar featuring a front-facing bust of the president wearing a military uniform and a plumed hat, was produced by Luigi Giorgi, the chief engraver of the Tianjin Mint,[α] in 1914. Overly complex sentence. Maybe “The first design for a dollar featuring Yuan Shikai was produced by Luigi Giorgi, the chief engraver of the Tianjin Mint,[α] in 1914. It featured …”?
  • Broke the sentence up as recommended.-G
• Giorgi designed a pattern design for a standard-issue is a word (i.e. a noun) missing here? A standard-issue coin, perhaps?
  • “Issue” is a noun in a numismatic context, meaning the authorized production of a specific coin design. Similar to an issue of a comic book or magazine. Should I clarify this?-G
• After Giorgi presented a pattern coin to Yuan, he regarded his depiction as inaccurate and unflattering, and received permission … Not clear who is doing things in the latter part of this sentence. I assume “he” means Yuan, and that it’s Giorgi who received permission?
• It has a milled edge connect to the previous sentence, i.e. “… 2.66 mm (0.10 in) thick with a milled edge”.
• Currency laws under the Republic allowed for a 3‰ (0.08 g) variation in weight is “per mil” standard usage in the coin world? If not, I think it would be less confusing to readers to go with the more familiar “per cent” (0.3%).
  • Yeah, per mil is correct here.-G
• Due to this, the mint was closed in 1926. It’s not clear what “this” refers to.
• but likely numbered in the tens or hundreds of millions according to who?

That’s it for me. Overall, this is an easy to read article which educated me and held my interest in a topic about which I know next to nothing. RoySmith (talk) 14:44, 20 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Lead

• You could consider adding the relevant language template to the mainspace.

Background and creation

• “Two silver dollars, featuring president Sun Yat-sen (the Memento dollar) and vice president Li Yuanhong,” → “Two silver dollars, featuring President Sun Yat-sen (the Memento dollar) and Vice President Li Yuanhong,”

Design and specifications

• “The coins’ weight vary by several grains” →

“The coins’ weights vary by several grains”
or “Coin weights vary by several grains” or otherwise

• • So as to ensure subject-verb agreement.

Economics

• “quickly replaced it as the primary trade coin”

→ “quickly replaced them as the primary trade coin”

• • “Foreign silver coins” is plural, so “it” cannot refer to it.

MSincccc (talk) 17:17, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Later Production and Use

• poor quality Yuan Shikai dollars → poor-quality Yuan Shikai dollars
• “Mints in the Nationalist-aligned southern and western provinces to return to the production of silver coinage” → “Mints in the Nationalist-aligned southern and western provinces returned to the production of silver coinage”
• “on to them” → “onto them”

Postwar

• “Specific mintage figures for these restrikes of the coin”→ “Specific mintage figures for these restrikes”

Bottom line

• It might be interesting to know which foreign coins the coinage was intended to replace.

• “the national government had the sole right to produce coinage, and standardized their compositions and weights.[3]” Is coinage singular or plural?

More soon.–Wehwalt (talk) 15:49, 26 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• ” and international exports declined” is “international exports” not redundant?

• “unlike contemporary counterfeits,” Then or now? I certainly saw enough counterfeit ones when I was in China in 2018, you could by them by the paper roll. Regrettably, although examples are partially visible in the photos I took, I don’t see a clear shot of one.

• Reworded – counterfeits contemporary to the coin. -G

@Wehwalt: Thank you! Responded. Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 06:35, 7 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Source review – spotchecks not done

• Some of the details in the infobox don’t appear to be sourced anywhere

• How are you ordering multiple works by the same author?

• Deng is missing publisher