S925 Silver Mountain Ghost Coin Wide Open Ring

A charm coin is a subduing coin, cast not for circulation but for protection and for wearing. Mountain Ghost charm coins were struck in quantity among the people in the Qing, in many versions, each with its own lettering, central hole and reverse design. Collectors look at the bronze first and at the spirit of the characters second. This ring borrows the coin's shape and makes it in silver. Silver content is read from the hallmark, and the inside of the band is normally stamped S925.

The two characters for Mountain Ghost first appear in the Nine Songs of the Chu Ci, as the title of a hymn to the mountain deity. On a charm coin the words have become a name inside a talisman: same characters, not quite the same lineage. The face commonly opens with a command at the top, sets Mountain Ghost at the centre and puts thunder scrolls to either side; the reverse mostly carries the bagua. The wording of the spell differs from version to version, and the passages that do not parse were probably set down by a smith working from sound. The trigram lines have to be cut cleanly, since run them together and it becomes a different talisman. On silver, the edge of the square hole should be rounded, or it rubs the back of the finger.

The wide band stretches a coin's shape sideways and the characters open up with it. A coin is round outside and square within; made into a ring, the square hole lands on the back of the finger and the round rim sits against the sides. A wide band has weight, and you get used to it; a feeling of tightness at first is normal. The characters are recessed and feel obstructive under the finger, cut in rather than stamped. Water runs through the square hole when you wash your hands, so do not forget that ring of metal when you dry.

Choose a wide band a size up. Fingers swell in summer, and morning and evening differ; try it in the late afternoon, and if it goes on, turns and does not pinch, it fits. Keep the opening at the side of the finger so it does not dig in when you hold a pen. Hands shrink in winter and the ring loosens, so be careful not to shake it off. In summer a wide band traps sweat at the base of the finger; dry it before putting it away.

Silver oxidises, and the recesses of the characters go black first. For a charm-coin subject that black is an advantage, because the characters stand up. Wipe the raised surfaces only with a silver cloth and do not push it into the lettering. Soaking the whole piece in silver dip turns it a flat dead white and the depth of the cutting disappears. Rinse it when you wash your hands rather than saving up one big cleaning. A silver cloth leaves a little white powder behind, so rinse it off before wearing.