A high carat gold antique Chinese ring with a seal reading. The circle shaped seal has a pearl border. The cirlce is divided in four sections within each is a Chinese character. The Chinese characters 先币永吉 translate to: the coin or the gold of the ancestors will bring you luck. On the inside of the ring there are two marks one for pure gold (24 karat) and one for the workshop that made this ring, the "Yang Qinghe" gold shop. The ring is now a size 17.5 mm. or 7 ½ US and has an overlapping back so it can easily be shaped to a smaller or larger size. 19th century, Chinese. Weight: 7.35 grams.
I would like to thank @atizohl for the translations and research.
In 1773 (the eighth year of Qing Emperor Qianlong), the first gold shop “Yang Qinghe” in Shanghai County was opened on the front street of Temple in Shanghai County (now Huangpu District). Since then, the "Yang Qinghe" gold shop has experienced several ups and downs. In 1906, the "Yang Qinghe Jiu Ji" silver building moved to the Wufu Nongkou of Nanjing Road. In the 1930s “Yang Qing Jiu Ji” developed into one of the biggest names on the Nanjing Road. The store had a long history, but not only that, it was very big with an excellent reputation. Since the end of the Qing Dynasty, this silver building has been known as the “largest silver building” on Shanghai Beach, and the store’s gold and silver jewellery where always the first choice for Shanghai customers, because the Shanghai people knew the original owner of this store was Shao Youyi, who used to be on the Shanghai Road. #inezstodelSOLD
