Hairpin Museum Gallery 繞髮柔髮簪 博物館數位典藏 髮簪資料庫
  • Antique Hairpins 古董髮簪
    • Chinese 中國髮簪
    • Kingfisher Feather 點翠髮簪
    • Japanese 日式髮簪
    • Archeological 出土髮簪
    • Double-ended 雙尖髮壓
    • Coin Hairpin 銀幣髮簪
  • Head Ornaments 頭飾&鳳冠
    • Rhinestone Opera hairpins 水鑽頭面
    • For Opera 戲冠
    • Wedding Crown 鳳冠嫁冠
    • Manchurian Hat 滿族頭飾
  • Other Ornaments 其他頭飾
    • Mei Le 金屬眉勒
    • Mei Le 刺繡眉勒
    • Hair Clips 髮夾
    • Hair Bun 真髮髮髻
    • Suzhou Juē 蘇州撅
    • Hair Frame 髮架
  • Combs 梳子
    • Ethnic Combs 民族學梳子
    • Wooden combs 木梳
    • Lacquer Comb 剔紅梳
  • Other relative 其他相關物品
    • Hairpin spoon 玉簪匙及筆洗
  • Modern Hairpins 現代髮簪
    • Mixed Media 複合媒材
    • Wood Carving 竹木雕簪
    • Hard Tissue 骨角牙簪
    • Special Hairpins 特殊髮簪
    • New Kingfisher Feather hairpins 新點翠
  • Details 髮簪細節
    • Punched Marks 落款
    • Hair Preserved on Hairpins 簪上的髮
    • Flags on Hairpins 簪上的國旗
    • Characters on Hairpins 髮簪上的文字
    • Photomicroscopy 顯微照片
  • Go to 回到博物館
    • Images gallery 影像藝廊
    • Hairpin Museum (English)
    • 髮簪博物館 (中文)

Coins hairpins 錢幣髮簪

The Hairpin Museum has several examples of hairpins made from coins. Many of the “coin hairpins” are made using coins from the Japanese colonial period but it is unclear whether the hairpins were actually made in Japan and brought to Taiwan during the Japanese occupation, or were made locally in Taiwan. Some of the coin hairpins contain coins from Hong Kong when it was an important trade port in the British Empire. One contains five coins from British India and two, dating from 1840, are made with one Guilder silver coins issued by the Dutch East India Company. So the story of these hairpins is really the story of the colonial powers in Asia at the beginning of the 20th century. That being said, one hairpin in our collections is was made with two Japanese coins dated to 1875 which is twenty years before the Japanese occupation of Taiwan.
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Different kinds of coin hairpins from different areas.
Japanese ones - left bottom.
British ones - Right bottom.
One of the big differences between coin hairpins and other types of hairpin is that these have a very clear date on them. However, things are not so clear or easy. Certainly we can know that the hairpin was not made earlier than the date on the coin or coins. But the coin may have been in circulation for several years before it was made into a hair decoration. One way to judge this is to look for signs of wear on the coin. Coins in purses and pockets rub together as they are carried around and the faces and lettering become worn away and indistinct. Some Victorian coins from the UK are barely readable. Coins on the end of a hairpin will not get worn in the same way so that a hair decoration with a badly worn coin may have been made 20-30 years after the date on which it was minted. The coins issued by the Dutch East India Company were very worn and were probably in circulation for fifty or sixty years before being made into the two hairpins mentioned above.
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Coin from Nederland, 1840. Probably made as hairpin around 1900s.
That leads us to the next puzzle. In most countries it is illegal to deface or destroy a coin of the realm. In some cultures this is because the coin bears the image of the reigning monarch and to destroy that could be considered discourteous at best, or treasonous at worst. Removal of coins and banknotes from circulation is also potentially disastrous for the economy. Money is removed from the economy and if this becomes common then the countries internal trade will suffer. In most cases this is not a serious problem with the Museum’s hairpins. The vast majority of coins are of low value - only a few Japanese Sen or Hong Kong Cents. However, One very large Japanese hairpin, made in nickel silver, contains three coins with a total value two-and-a-half Yen. The youngest coin is dated to the 41st year of the Meiji era and at the time the value of the coins was equivalent to perhaps two to three days salary for a schoolteacher - quite an expensive token of love to a wife or girlfriend.
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Hairpin from Malaysia. Made from ​two medals. (Front and back)
A final note on one of the coin hairpins. This one in made from gilt silver wire and twisted strip containing two medals and embellished with two glass rubies. It is rather crudely made and was bought in Malacca. What is interesting about this object is that the two medals are locally made copies of British issued trade medals. One is marked “GOLD MEDAL FOR JEWELLERY” and the other “PRIZE MEDAL FOR JEWELLERY”. They bear a crudely executed profile of Queen Victoria on the obverse and the royal coat of arms on the reverse. There are no dates on the medals but the originals were issued (in pure gold) in 1896. They were probably produced locally to sell to tourists. It is ironic that medals awarded for jewellery (albeit fake ones) are included in such a poorly made but nevertheless charming piece of costume jewellery. 

Hong Kong Coins
香港維多利亞女王銀幣
Date:1892
香港二毫
銀飾上有點狀落款"蓋記"

Hong Kong Coins
Queen Victoria & Edward VII
Date:1901 & ?
5 cents 五仙​

Hong Kong Coins
Queen Victoria & Edward VII 5 cents 五仙​
Date:1899,1895

日本龍銀一元/五十錢
一元:明治三十六年(1903),明治二?,
五十錢:明治41年1908
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日本龍銀二十錢髮簪
明治8年:1875光緒元年
明治33年:1900
​

大日本龍銀二十錢髮簪
明治28年,1895年
​五足釵
此釵下方有五支簪柄
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龍銀十錢 2支
上:明治29,明治2? (1896)
下:明治38年,明治3?(1905)
​

日本菊五錢髮釵
明治23年1890,30年1897此為普通銅錢所製,在當時較無價值,故現在存量較為稀少

Netherlands East Indies Gulden Hairpins
Coin made in 1840
Hairpins made around 1900s
About the coin

Indian Coins
These are five coins issued in British India in the 19th century.


廣東一毫銀幣髮簪
中華民國二年
10 cents
Kwang-Tung Province
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馬來西亞金幣造型髮簪
Malaysia hairpin
Not real coins.
GOLD MEDAL FOR JEWELLERY
Two glass rubies

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