Return from Documents to the Republic Year 3 Coin
Begin with complete portrait and grain-wreath faces under one identifier, keeping paper sleeves, holder labels and oral accounts in separate context fields.
Locate portrait hair, ear, epaulette, year characters, wreath, denomination, knot, denticles and any proposed variety marker on the whole coin.
Record the full circumference, weight, diameter, instruments, native units and contact points without replacing original readings with conversions.
The guidance applies to each Republic Year 3 Yuan Shikai coin individually and does not assume an owner, transaction or result.
Make the Edge a Continuous Series
Photograph overlapping sections around the circumference from a fixed start, leaving seams, altered rims, piercings, solder and former mounts untouched.
Explain any handling needed before contact, and keep a holder closed where its seal or provenance relationship has not been documented.
Number Every Yuan Shikai Coin Separately
Transcribe the year, denomination and wording from both faces before comparing weight and diameter within the same established design.
Turn and photograph one coin at a time so the portrait face, grain-wreath reverse, edge and readings cannot be exchanged within a group.
Record Patina, Wear and Surface Change
Separate stable toning, circulation rub, weak strike, contact marks, wiping hairlines and chemically altered colour under comparable lighting.
A grading holder supplies a printed attribution and score, not proof of the enclosed year, variety, designs or surface state.
Know What Photographs Cannot Resolve
Keep chops, old sleeves and provenance statements as dated background while direct coin evidence controls the description.
Use direct examination where plastic hides the rim, subtle repair is suspected or complete views do not locate a proposed diagnostic.
Where Republic Year 3 Details Become a Variety Question
The year characters, portrait hair, ear and epaulette belong to the portrait-side description before any named variety is considered.
On the reverse, the denomination, grain heads, leaves and knot provide a second set of located features that must stay paired with that portrait.
Raking light describes wiping, relief and rim disturbance; it does not turn a condition effect into an O variety or another diagnostic.
A later photograph may clarify one marker without invalidating the first evidence set, so the amended reading carries its own date and reason.
The enquiry therefore identifies the exact variety feature still at issue and preserves the coin uncleaned in the enclosure shown in the record.
