1890–1908 Kwangtung 7 Mace 2 Candareens Dollar

Specifications

Melt value: $50.35silver $64.40/ozt, copper $0.44/ozt · prices as of Sep 16, 2026

AI-generated illustration based on cited references; no freely licensed photograph of this type was verified.

The standard Kwangtung dragon dollar — the undated 7 mace 2 candareens type struck at Canton from 1890 through 1908.

History

Introduced in 1890 at the Guangzhou (Canton) Mint, the Kwangtung 7 mace 2 candareens dollar became the standard dragon dollar type, struck undated through 1908 (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16)
It succeeded the 1889 7 mace 3 candareens predecessor and established the design model — including the corrected placement of the Chinese and English legends — that later provincial dollars copied (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16)
Dies were supplied by Heaton of Birmingham for the Canton Mint’s coinage (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16)
The type is cataloged as KM-Y203 / L&M-133 / Kann-26 (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16)
A specimen graded SP67 PCGS realized $228,000 at Heritage, demonstrating the premium commanded by top-grade examples of the type (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16)
As the long-running standard issue of China’s most important provincial mint, it is the reference dragon dollar against which other provincial types are judged (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16)

1890 — first year of the 7 mace 2 candareens standard type (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16)
Struck undated through 1908; the type is collected as a single long-running series rather than by date (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16)
SP67 PCGS specimen — $228,000 Heritage sale, the record reference point for the type (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16)

Composition: Silver, .900 fine (27 g at .900 fine = ASW 0.7812 oz, per Heritage) (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
Diameter: 39 mm (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
Weight: 27 g; ASW 0.7812 oz (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).

Buy graded examples and verify the PCGS/NGC certificate number online; Kwangtung dragon dollars are heavily counterfeited.
Confirm the denomination reads 7 mace 2 candareens — the scarcer 1889 7 mace 3 candareens predecessor is a different, more valuable type.
Check weight (27 g) and diameter (39 mm); many fakes are underweight or softly struck.
Original mint luster with sharp dragon scales commands strong premiums, as the $228,000 SP67 result shows.