1669

Lot of 6 brass gambling tokens, ca. 1860, from a "China Town" area of Lima, Peru.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Medals & Tokens Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:125.00 - 200.00 USD
Lot of 6 brass gambling tokens, ca. 1860, from a  China Town  area of Lima, Peru.
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This item SOLD at 2016 May 19 @ 20:22UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Lot of 6 brass gambling tokens, ca. 1860, from a "China Town" area of Lima, Peru. 61.04 grams total. Generally simple in design, most with denomination on one side and Chinese characters on the other, all well used (F-VF?), one holed. Chinese immigration to Peru started in 1849, and by 1857 more than 100,000 Chinese workers resided in Peru, mostly employed in sugar refineries and the guano industry. The Central Market neighborhood of La Concepcion in Lima grew on commercial ties with California and Hong Kong. Gambling was commonplace and yet heavily sanctioned by the conservative authorities, just as it had been during colonial times. A recent author on criminality in Peru during those times (Whipple, 2009) notes that “regarding the gambling, the 'decent' people of Lima would find in the growing population of Chinese immigrants during the 2nd half of the 19th century another group to blame for these vices.” A rare and interesting set, obtained from a major Peruvian collection mostly formed in the early part of the 20th century. (Historical background supplied by Carlos Jara.)