Cast Chinese Coins (Hartill Reference) Question

So I have about 40 Cast Chinese Coins that may or may not be authentic. In in effort to try and identify them I purchased David Hartill reference.

My question will be in regards to that reference. 

I think I have identified the following as 22.259 which is not in Numista. First, are the pictures on the reference actual size? Unless specified? Is the Degenerate example also actual size? The one I believe to have identified is the size of the Degenerate example is the reason for my question. Book also states workmanship is often poor. So how can the coin be identified as authentic?

21.70 mm

3.6 g

Brass

I assume your coin is two dot tong coin, and thus 22.259 or degenerate issue. That coin is in Numista, here: N#19755

I believe pictures are actual size pictures or at least as close as possible, including degenerate issue. When you compare different coins you will notice that some of them are carefully made and some are of poor workmanship. Most probably all these coins are authentic because they are very cheap coins, but you have to remember that there has been huge amount on furnaces where these cash coins have been cast, in addition to “illegal” cast.

Hartill book is pretty good reference book but I usually check zeno.ru also, that website have very good selection of photos and knowledge.

Cast Chinese coins is pretty challenging area and The Qing Dynasty is not the most challenging one, probably the easiest one. 

If the link you provided is 22.259 why is it referenced to 22.248? Also the ᠶᡠᠸᠠᠨ is not the same, so would that not make them different Hartill numbers?

That link includes Hartill codes 22.248-22.270 for 1 Cash - Qianlong Tongbao; Boo-yuwan. Please open the link and roll all the way down, you will find also 22.259.

Thank you for your help, I see it now.

During this period there was at least one calligraphic variety per year per mint and submint.  Hartill breaks down varieties, usually by year ranges where particular characteristics are uniform, but these subvarieties can be broken down further by year, so your coin may not match any of Hartill's rubbings exactly.  The “degenerate types” he lists can be end-of-reign when standards at the mint were slipping, or local imitations.  To really get into the weeds on Qing, you need Werner Burger's $800 book “Ch'ing Cash," with it's by-year charts.  And I sometimes find things not even Burger.