Chinese cash coins: what does X-cash mean?

Hello!
I'm a researcher from Portugal and I'm studying a collection of cash coins from a Museum for its elemental composition.
I have access to some books on the subject but I find many coins of the collection have the 1-cash, 2-cash, 5-cash, 10-cash attribution on their card containers but I ' m having some trouble decoding what this means...
From what I can tell, it's got something to do with its weight and attibuted value? Does it also relate to the coin diameter?
If someone can please shed some light on the subject (preferably with some references, but it's not mandatory) I would greatly apreciate it!
Best regards,
m.

Hello Moya,

I am an expert on Asian coins. Consult me if you have any questions.

Are you talking about 十? This means 10 in Chinese.

Hi SmartOneKg,
Thank you for your reply.
For example, a Chong Zhen Tong Bao coin from the Ming dynasty. Writen on its card container is the year of mintage: 1628 AD, and the designation "2-cash" and "type H". It has got 26.5 mm in total diameter and 1.2mm thickness, weighing 5 grams.

What does the 2-cash stand for?
And the type H?

I did not mean - in the title of this post - X-cash literally. I meant X like a variable: 1-cash, 2-cash, 5-cash, 10-cash, 50-cash. (X can equal 1, 2, 5, 10 or 50).
Thank you.
m.

I think it was the actual currency unit, confusingly. So in America they use the dollar, in Ancient China they used the cash, here in UK we use the pound, and so on. I got confused when I first saw it written (could still be confused). Over to you, SmartOneKg  

P.S. On the page for China - People's Republic - Yuan renminbi (1949-date)
 there is nowadays  100 fen = 10 jiao = 1 yuan renminbi
 so at some time in the past it changed (I think) from  cash  to  Yuan renminbi

P.P.S. Also looked on the previous entry in the Country list and seen
 China - Republic - Yuan (1912-1949)  1000 wen/cash = 100 fen/cents = 10 jiao = 1 yuan/dollar
  so perhaps  cash  was another name for a  wen  ? Still, SmartOneKg will tell us hopefully   

Hey guys,

Cash is the Portuguese name for wen, wen being Chinese and Cash from "casu," meaning money box.

I still don't understand what you're saying, Moya. Upload a picture. Usually coins starting the 18th century have the value on the reverse in number of cash; before this century they have only mace values.

Thank you all for the replies.
I am studying a coin collection dating from 200 BC to 1896 AD.
The coins have references of their cash values from the Southern Song onwards.
For example:
Qian Dao Yaun Bao, 1165 AD, 28mm diameter 1.1mm thick 7g is attributed a value(?) of 2-cash.

Cash is the denomination. 10 cash equals 1 candareen, 10 candareens is 1 mace, and 10 mace is a tael. These demoninations are also the names of specific weights of pure silver.
Although they were made of bronze or iron, one cash is theoretically .58 grains of silver,.although that varies based on who defined the tael ( trade ports had their own versions)

I found an old US Congress reference report on google books.
See http://books.google.com/books?id=IBJHAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA484&lpg=PA484&dq=cash+china+mace&source=bl&ots=vcwrNP6qu_&sig=tseD4O1w4YiziEDRxw_HUmkThWs&hl=en for more info.

Hey Moya,

It could also be Qian Yuan Tong Bao, from first sight. Also Can-phu from Vietnam. The way it is read is either clockwise or from top to bottom, then right to left.

The coin could be a 2 Cash, Moya. Honestly, I am an expert in Asian coins post-1600's, but what I can tell you is that the coin is quite common. If it read zhong bao, it would usually be worth 10 cash or more.

So if you have the references, that's good! But from my history of learning Chinese cash, all coins with no reverse value have a facial value of 0.001.

Thank you so much The Chair and SmartOneKG.
I'm going to check the book on google.
Best regards,
m.