Coin Hairpin 銀幣髮簪

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.

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.

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.

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.