old chinese coin translation

[coincutter]

i just bought an old Chinese coin directly from China via ebay and i hoping somebody could help me with a translation. it is supposed to be from the Song Dynasty (960 and 1279). I don't know if that's true or not but if anyone had any knowledge about it, i would be grateful to learn. Particularly what the words mean and/or if it is genuine.

I plan on cutting this coin into a pendant so I would also like to know if it has a 'right side up' or if it can hang from any point and still translate properly.

please see the photo. thanks!

ebay ad title read:

Song Dynasty lucky Bronze Coin"TaiPing WanSui"

also if you want an idea as to what it will look like when i am done with it, check out my etsy site. you'll see some amazing stuff - www.petslad.etsy.com

[Daan]

I am definitely not an expert on coins, but what this says is 太平萬歲 tàipíng wànsuì which sounds to me like the battle cry of the Taiping Rebellion: May Taiping last forever, or so. Doesn't look like Song dynasty to me. But I could be very wrong.

Edited November 10, 2009 at 11:43 AM by Daan
silly tone mistake corrected

[anonymoose]

I'm also definitely not an expert, but I just thought I'd mention that there are many fake coins around, so until you have confirmation, I'd assume it's a fake.

[xianhua]

Well, since everyone else put their disclaimer in: I’m not an expert either.

I do think this seller should be reported to Ebay though. A description which reads: Song Dynasty lucky Bronze Coin "TaiPing WanSui" raises immediate alarm bells since the two (end of Song dynasty and Taiping rebellion) were nearly 600 years apart.

[in_lab]

This link says Qing dynasty. It sold for 65 RMB on this auction, but I saw another for 56 RMB.

Edit: As for the meaning, it literally means peace (Taiping) 10,000 years, which means long live the Taiping, or can be interpreted as wishing everlasting peace.