The Ten Kingdoms Ancient Chinese coinage

1 ten kingdoms

1.1 former shu (907–25)
1.2 kingdom of min (909–45)
1.3 kingdom of chu (907–51)
1.4 later shu (926–65)
1.5 southern tang kingdom (937–75)
1.6 southern han kingdom (905–71)
1.7 crude lead coins
1.8 zhou autonomous region (900–14)

the ten kingdoms
former shu (907–25)

issued wang jian (907–18).

yong ping yuan bao (chinese: 永平元寶; pinyin: yǒng píng yuánbǎo)
tong zheng yuan bao (chinese: 通正元寶; pinyin: tōng zhèng yuánbǎo)
tian han yuan bao (chinese: 天漢元寶; pinyin: tiānhàn yuánbǎo)
guang tian yuan bao (chinese: 光天元寶; pinyin: guāng tiān yuánbǎo)

issued wang zongyan, son of wang jian (919–25).

qian de yuan bao (chinese: 乾德元寶; pinyin: qián dé yuánbǎo)
xian kang yuan bao (chinese: 咸康元寶; pinyin: xián kāng yuánbǎo)

the coins of wang family of poor quality. wang jian began career village thief; enlisted soldier, rose through ranks, , 901 virtually independent ruler, capital @ chengdu in sichuan. regime provided peaceful haven artists , poets.

kingdom of min (909–45)

issued wang shenzhi:

kai yuan tong bao (chinese: 開元通寶; pinyin: kāiyuán tōng bǎo) have large dot above on reverse side. made of iron , date 922. same coin cast in bronze extremely rare.
kai yuan tong bao (chinese: 開元通寶; pinyin: kāiyuán tōng bǎo) have character min (chinese: 閩; pinyin: mǐn) on reverse. fujian region , made of lead.
kai yuan tong bao (chinese: 開元通寶; pinyin: kāiyuán tōng bǎo) have character fu (chinese: 福; pinyin: fú) on reverse in reference fuzhou. made of lead.

in 916, wang shenzhi, king of min, minted small lead kai yuan coin in ninghua county of dingzhou prefecture in fujian province, deposits of lead had been discovered. lead coins circulated copper coins.

issued wang yanxi:

yong long tong bao (chinese: 永隆通寶; pinyin: yǒnglóng tōng bǎo) have character min (chinese: 閩; pinyin: mǐn) on reverse , comes fujian region. there crescent below. made of iron , dates 942. 1 of these large yong long coins worth 10 small coins , 100 lead coins. string of 500 of these poorly made min iron coins popularly called kao (literally: manacle ).

issued wang yanzheng:

tian de tong bao (chinese: 天德通寶; pinyin: tiān dé tōng bǎo) made of iron. when wang yanzheng proclaimed emperor, changed name of kingdom yin, later restored name of min. 1 of these iron coins, cast in 944, worth 100 ordinary cash.

kingdom of chu (907–51)

supreme commander ma yin:

tian ce fu bao (chinese: 天策府寶; pinyin: tiān cè fǔ bǎo) made of iron. ma yin, carpenter, given rank of supreme commander of tiance, hunan, emperor zhu wen of later liang, , minted coin in 911 commemorate event. ma yin later became king wumu of chu.
qian feng quan bao (chinese: 乾封泉寶; pinyin: qiān fēng quán bǎo) made of iron. according histories, because there lead , iron in hunan, ma yin took advice of minister gao yu cast lead , iron coins @ changsha in 925. 1 of these worth ten copper cash, , circulation confined changsha. merchants traded in these coins, benefit of state. in 2000, hoard of on 3,000 of these coins found near changsha. extremely rare bronze specimens known.
qian yuan zhong bao (chinese: 乾元重寶; pinyin: qiān yuán zhòng bǎo) bear inscription found on tang coins. small lead coin thought have been issued chu kingdom. similar bronze coins attributed ma yin, funerary items.

later shu (926–65)

da shu tong bao (great shu currency) (chinese: 大蜀通寶; pinyin: dà shǔ tōng bǎo) attributed meng zhixiang when became emperor gao zu of shu in chengdu in 934. died 3 months later. despite rarity, coin continued cast son, meng chang, until 937.
guang zheng tong bao (chinese: 廣政通寶; pinyin: guǎng zhèngtōng bǎo) made of bronze , iron. bronze coins cast meng chang beginning of period, 938. in 956, iron coins began cast cover additional military expenses. circulated until 963.

southern tang kingdom (937–75)

emperor yuan zong (li jing) (943–61):

bao da yuan bao (chinese: 保大元寶; pinyin: bǎo dà yuán bǎo) has on reverse character tian above. made of iron , date between 943–57. there extremely rare bronze example of coin.
yong tong quan huo (chinese: 永通泉貨; pinyin: yǒng tōng quán huò) produced after 959. li jing short of funds army @ time. minister zhong mo obtained permission cast large coins, 1 equal ten, inscription. in 964, coin withdrawn when zhong mo incurred displeasure of emperor.
tang guo tong bao (chinese: 唐國通寶; pinyin: tang guó tōng bǎo) written in seal, li, , regular script. date 959.
da tang tong bao (chinese: 大唐通寶; pinyin: dà táng tōng bǎo) written in li script , date 959.

emperor li yu (961–978):

kai yuan tong bao (chinese: 開元通寶; pinyin: kāiyuán tōng bǎo) written in li script , date 961.

distinguished tang period kai yuan broader rims, , characters being in less deep relief.

in second year of qiande (961), li yu ascended throne, , resources of country being exhausted, minister han xizai obtained permission cast coins. these on kai yuan model, in seal writing devised scholar xu xuan. coin larger old kai yuans, , had broader rims, , found convenient both government , people.

da qi tong bao (chinese: 大齊通寶; pinyin: dà qí tōng bǎo; literally: great qi currency ) said have been cast in 937 prince of qi or founder of southern tang original name of tang kingdom. 2 specimens known, , these have disappeared.

southern han kingdom (905–71)

kai ping yuan bao (chinese: 開平元寶; pinyin: kāipíng yuánbǎo) made lead. attributed liu yin, founder of southern han kingdom, apparently cast commemorate liang dynasty period title (907–10). excavated in guangdong.

emperor lie zu (liu yan) (917–42):

qian heng tong bao (chinese: 乾亨通寶; pinyin: gān hēngtōng bǎo)
qian heng zhong bao (chinese: 乾亨重寶; pinyin: gān hēng zhòng bǎo) made bronze , lead.

in 917, liu yan proclaimed himself emperor of dynasty @ first called great yue, han, , set capital @ canton, renamed xingwangfu.

crude lead coins

attributed southern han/chu area (900–971):

kai yuan tong bao (chinese: 開元通寶; pinyin: kāiyuán tōng bǎo) based on tang dynasty coins. have local style numerous reverse inscriptions – apparently series numbers.

there great variety of such coins; have crescents on reverse. kai character looks yong (chinese: 永; pinyin: yǒng). characters , legends reversed because incompetent workmen had not mastered art of engraving in negative make moulds. specimens have meaningless characters.

wu wu, wu wu wu, wu wu wu wu, wu zhu, , kai yuan wu wu coins typical of hybrid inscriptions formed combinations of inappropriate characters. have series numbers on reverse.

in 924, reported: in shops , markets, control of silk , money has resulted in circulation of small lead coins readily find in great quantities; come south of [yangtze] river whence merchants transport them here surreptitiously. in 929, chu authorities fixed value of lead coin 1/100 of bronze coin. in 962, decreed lead coins should circulate in towns, , copper coins outside of them. contravening risked death penalty.

nearly coin hoards of period of lead coins found in towns, e.g. guangfu road, guangzhou hoard of 2,000 coins. clear of these coins made unofficially merchants or people.

recently whole lot of inventions, purporting belong series, have come on market.

you zhou autonomous region (900–14)

from 822, zhou (within modern hebei) area enjoyed virtual independence rest of empire. @ end of ninth century regional commandant of zhou liu rengong, succeeded son liu shouguang 911. histories liu rengong minted iron coins. said have ordered subordinates collect [old?] bronze coins , bring them da mountain buried them in cave. when had been hidden away, killed workmen , covered on entrance. coins below have been found in north of china. opinion on attribution divided. although yong xia dynasty period title, these coins appear result of unregulated minting, seems appropriate regime of liu family.

yong yi shi (chinese: 永安一十; pinyin: yǒng ān yīshí)
yong yi bai (chinese: 永安一百; pinyin: yǒng ān yībǎi)
yong wu bai (chinese: 永安五百; pinyin: yǒng ān wǔbǎi)
yong yi qian (chinese: 永安一千; pinyin: yǒng ān yīqiān)

the above found in bronze , iron.

wu zhu (chinese: 五銖; pinyin: wǔ zhū) made iron.
huo bu (chinese: 貨布; pinyin: huò bù) reverse: san bai (chinese: 三百; pinyin: sānbǎi; literally: 3 hundred ).
shun tian yuan bao. (chinese: 順天元寶; pinyin: shùn tiān yuánbǎo) made iron.

these poorly made coins imitations of coins of previous regimes , attributed zhou.