S925 Silver Mountain Ghost Coin Spinning Pendant

A flower coin is not money. It never circulated; it was cast for other purposes — to avert evil, as an offering, to be worn, to be collected. The mountain ghost is one type, its face usually carrying the characters for mountain ghost or thunder command and its back a bagua or a talisman, on the foundation of Daoist talisman coins. The mountain ghost in the name is not the mountain deity of Qu Yuan's Nine Songs; the two simply share a title. Flower coins are a mixed category — gaming pieces, auspicious phrases, zodiac signs, spells — and the mountain ghost is one branch of it.

This one has been given a rotating structure. A flower coin is a flat plate, and once it spins both faces come into view, which puts the patterns on both sides to work. There is a gap between the rotating layer and the frame, and dust in that gap will make it stiff; that is normal. Rinse with warm water and let it dry, and don't add oil — oil attracts dust, and the more you add the stiffer it gets. Turn it by pushing the outer frame with a fingertip, not by pinching the inner disc and twisting.

Two colours, black and red. The black is probably a patination treatment and the red likely enamel or stoved lacquer; the actual process is best judged from the piece itself, as both are common on silver. Black is sober and disappears against dark clothing. Red is conspicuous, good over a jumper in winter and rather overwhelmed by a pale summer outfit. Filled colour dislikes knocks: chip a piece out and it can't be patched, only the whole face redone.

Reading the face inscription takes some care. The mountain ghost invocation has its own recitation in Daoist practice, and on a plaque usually only the opening characters or a talisman form are cut, never the whole text. If you want to know what yours says, photograph it clearly and ask someone who knows rather than sounding it out on guesswork. Talisman forms and written characters are two systems: one is about structure, the other about stroke order, and they don't mix. Not being able to read it all is no disgrace; the same goes for buying a charm inscribed in Latin.

The silver base is rounded at the edges and doesn't scratch skin. The pivot is delicate work, so don't dig at it with a fingernail. Wear it daily, but take it off to shower. Don't use too fine a chain: the plaque has weight, a thin chain pulls into a curve and hangs badly, and a braided cord is steadier. If the face has a raised rim, a shirt collar will catch on it, so be aware. Where both black and red are antiqued, the exposed silver looks patchy — one colour is enough.