Chinese Chopmarks on Coins
Chopmarks are small punched words and symbols that Chinese merchants and shroffs stamped onto silver coins to certify weight and purity. Explore further to learn about chopmarked coins spanning three centuries of trade.
Explore
Main Collection
Browse foreign coins from all over the world that circulated in East Asian trade, organized by era from the early 1600s through the early 1900s.
Browse main collection
Other Sets
Mexican Cap and Rays 8 Reales from each mint, Chinese Dragon Dollars, Fukien Copper Cash, Japanese Edo Period money, Chopmarks on Countermarked hosts and other sets outside of the main collection.
Explore other sets
Chopmarks
Explore different types of chopmarks, how to identify them, and how to spot fake chopmarks.
Learn about the marks
Canton Trade
For nearly a century, the Canton System confined all Western trade with China to a single port, regulated through licensed Chinese merchant guilds. Explore the system, the people, the goods, and the ships that carried silver from the New World to China.
Explore the history
Resources
Online articles, recommended reading, recorded talks, and links to major collections and the Chopmark Collectors Club.
See resourcesUpdates
- May 2026: Added Chopmark Lookup section under the Chopmarks menu. You can now draw your chopmarks and try to find a matching Hanzi character. I also added a few coins purchased from the recent Stacks sale of the Ed Murhpy collection, to the main collection.
- April 2026: Updated user interface and navigation, and most of the content is now in place.
- January 2026: Site launched, but not all content is there yet. Help me test and please suggest feedback. What new sections or content would you like to see?