Tang issues Ancient Chinese coinage

obverse , reverse of kai yuan tong bao coin.

kai yuan tong bao (chinese: 開元通寶; pinyin: kāiyuán tōng bǎo; literally: inaugural currency ) main coin issued tang. cast of dynasty, period of 300 years. first issued emperor gao zu in autumn of 4th year of wu de period (august 621). diameter 8 fen. weight set @ 2.4 zhu, ten liang. 1,000 coins weighed 6 jin 4 liang. legend written famous calligrapher ouyang xun in admired mixture of bafen , li (official or clerkly) styles of writing. first include phrase tong bao, used on many subsequent coins. inscription used other regimes in later periods; such coins can distinguished tang coins workmanship. minting , copper extraction centrally controlled, , private casting punishable death. first time find regulations giving prescribed coinage alloy: 83% copper, 15% lead, , 2% tin. percentages used seem have been on ad hoc basis. actual analyses show rather less copper this.

a crescent-shaped mark found on reverse of kai yuans. legend empress wende inadvertently stuck 1 of fingernails in wax model of coin when first presented her, , resulting mark reverentially retained. other imperial ladies have been proposed source of these nail marks, imperial consort yang. peng explores possibility of foreign source them. more prosaically, appear control system operated mint workers.

at first, mints set in luoyang in henan, , in peking, chengdu, bingzhou (taiyuan in shanxi), , guilin in guangxi. minting rights granted princes , officials. 660, deterioration of coinage due forgery had become problem. regulations reaffirmed in 718, , forgeries suppressed. in 737, first commissioner overall responsibility casting appointed. in 739, ten mints recorded, total of 89 furnaces casting 327,000 strings of cash year. 123 liang of metal needed produce string of coins weighing 100 liang. in late 740s, skilled artisans employed casting, rather conscripted peasants. despite these measures, coinage continued deteriorate. in 808, ban on hoarding coins proclaimed. repeated in 817. regardless of rank of person, not hold more 5,000 strings of cash. cash balances exceeding amount had expended within 2 months purchase goods. attempt compensate lack of cash in circulation. 834, mint output had fallen 100,000 strings year, due shortage of copper. forgeries using lead , tin alloys produced.

in 845, in huichang period, emperor wu zong, fervent follower of taoism, destroyed buddhist monasteries , used copper bells, gongs, incense burners , statues cast coins in various localities. these local mints under control of provincial governors. new tang history states li shen, governor of huainan province, requested empire might cast coins bearing name of prefecture in cast, , agreed. these coins mint names on reverses, known huichang kai yuans, of poor workmanship , size compared kai yuans. however, when emperor xuanzong ascended throne next year, policy reversed, , new coins recast make buddhist statues.

archaeological discoveries have assisted numismatists in dating various varieties of kai yuan more closely.

other tang dynasty coins are:

qian feng quan bao (chinese: 乾封泉寶; pinyin: qián fēng quán bǎo) cast emperor gao zong (649–83) in 666. in attempt overcome shortage of copper, 1 of qian feng coins equivalent ten old coins, although weight of 2.4 zhu same 1 cash coin. led extensive forgery, , coin withdrawn after year.
qian yuan zhong bao (chinese: 乾元重寶; pinyin: qián yuán zhòng bǎo) issued emperor su zong (756–62) pay army fighting against rebels. coins of first issue, in 758, equivalent of 10 ordinary cash. each coin weighed 1.6 qian. second issue, 759, of larger coins, 1 of equivalent of 50 cash. these coins have double rim on reverse , known zhong lun (heavy wheel) cash. weight twice of 10 cash coins. after scenes foreshadowed xianfeng period (1853), hundreds of people executed forgery, large qian yuan coins devalued 30 cash. in 762, smaller coins devalued 2 cash, , heavy wheel cash 3 cash. small qian yuans, worth 1 kai yuan, issued.




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