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Kaiyuan Tongbao

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Kaiyuan Tongbao
( khai nguyên thông bảo )
Tang dynasty
(China)[a]
Value1wén
CompositionBronze,[b]lead,"white bronze",iron,[c]silver,orgold[1]
Years of minting621–907
Obverse
DesignKaiyuan Tongbao ( khai nguyên thông bảo )
DesignerOuyang Xun( Âu Dương tuân )[2]
Reverse
DesignUsually blank, sometimes with nail marks,crescents,dots, or clouds, while"Huichang Kaiyuan Tongbao"cash coins tend to havemint marks(see below).

TheKaiyuan Tongbao(traditional Chinese:Khai nguyên thông bảo;simplified Chinese:Khai nguyên thông bảo;pinyin:kāiyuán tōng bǎo;lit.'Circulating treasure from the inauguration of a newepoch'), sometimesromanisedasKai Yuan Tong Baoor using the archaicWade-GilesspellingK'ai Yuan T'ung Pao,[3]was aTang dynastycash cointhat was produced from 621 under the reign ofEmperor Gaozuand remained in production for most of the Tang dynasty until 907.[4]The Kaiyuan Tongbao was notably the first cash coin to use the inscriptiontōng bǎo( thông bảo ) and an era title as opposed to have an inscription based on the weight of the coin as was the case withBan Liang,Wu Zhuand many other earlier types of Chinese cash coins.[5]The Kaiyuan Tongbao'scalligraphyand inscription inspired subsequentCentral Asian,Japanese,Korean,Ryūkyūan,andVietnamese cashcoins and became the standard untilthe last cash cointo use the inscription "Thông bảo" was cast until the early 1940s inFrench Indochina.

The Kaiyuan Tongbao also signified a major change in how money circulated in the Chinese Empire, while previously cash coins were valued based on their weights, they would now be valued based on government regulations.

After the fall of the Tang dynasty Kaiyuan Tongbao coins would continue to be produced by various states of theFive Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

During theMing dynasty,and later dynasties, the Kaiyuan Tongbao would become the most importantcash coin to be usedintraditional Chinese medicine.[6][7]

Manufacture

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Wax mother coins

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Main article:Mother coin

Under theSuiandTang dynastiesmother coinsreached their definite form and were produced in moulds engraved by ancestor coins, however during this same period a casting technique called "the lost wax method" was used to cast the Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins, in this method mother coins made from wax rather than metal were used, these mother coins were produced in large quantities because they were very cheap to make, unlike metal mother coins these wax mother coins stayed in the clay moulds and when the mould heated up they would melt away leaving a cavity for the molten metal to pour into forming the coins. This technique was also used for casting other bronze items however it was only used for casting coinage during the Sui and Tang dynasties and its sudden discontinuation pointed out to the fact that it was probably inefficient for mass producing small items such as coins.[8]

Clay moulds

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The world's only known authentic specimen of a Tang dynasty period clay mould (traditional Chinese:Tiền đào phạm;simplified Chinese:Tiền đào phạm;pinyin:Qián táo fàn) that was used to cast Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins was unearthed inShutang,Wangcheng District,Changsha,Hunanon August 17, 1992 by Mr. Ceng Jingyi (traditional Chinese:Từng kính nghi;simplified Chinese:Từng kính nghi;pinyin:Céng Jìngyí), a retired teacher and coin collector.[9][10][11]The Kaiyuan Tongbao clay mould is classified as a Chinese "national treasure"(traditional Chinese:Quốc bảo cấp;simplified Chinese:Quốc bảo cấp;pinyin:Guóbǎo jí).[9]

Up until the unearthing of this clay mould in the year 1992, no moulds were known to exist for the casting of Tang dynasty coinage.[9]The discovery of this clay mould has made it unclear as to what process was actually used to cast the Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins.[9]

While the Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins could have been cast in the traditional manner from moulds made of clay, stone, or bronze as was the case since theWarring States period,it was believed that cash coins during this period were being cast in sand using "mother coins" ( mẫu tiền ) to make the impressions where the circulation cash coins would later be produced from.[9]With the discovery of this unique clay mould, however, it has now been confirmed that clay moulds were still being used by mints to cast cash coins during the Tang dynasty period.[9]

The unique Kaiyuan Tongbao clay mould was placed on display at the "Exhibition of Chinese Ancient Coins" (traditional Chinese:Trung Quốc lịch đại tiền tệ triển;simplified Chinese:Trung Quốc lịch đại tiền tệ triển;pinyin:Zhōngguó lìdài qiánbì zhǎn) which was held at theOuyang Xun Cultural Park(traditional Chinese:Âu Dương tuân văn hóa viên;simplified Chinese:Âu Dương tuân văn hóa viên;pinyin:Ōuyáng xún wénhuà yuán) located in Shutang (traditional Chinese:Thư đường;simplified Chinese:Thư đường;pinyin:Shū táng).[9]

History

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Further information:Ancient Chinese coinage

Under the Tang dynasty the earlierWu Zhucoins of theSui dynastywould remain the standard currency, but during the fourth year of the Wu De ( võ đức ) period (or 621 of theGregorian calendar) Emperor Gaozu decreed that the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin be cast with a strictly enforced standard weight of1⁄10Liǎng( hai ).[12][13]The introduction of this new series of cash coins proved to be of epochal significance in the monetary history of China as the new coin started the "Baowen coinage" system (together with the Ban Liang cash coins introduced during the Qin period and Wu Zhu cash coins introduced during the Han period, making them the three major coinage systems in monetary history of China), which influenced the Chinese coinage system for over a millennium.[14]The Kaiyuan Tongbao also changed the way that cash coins were valued, as before they were dependent on their weight but starting from the Kaiyuan Tongbao the value of a cash coin would be determined by government regulation.[14]The government of the Tang dynasty initially set up theMoney Casting Bureau,which operated mints in a total of 14 locations.[14]

The Kaiyuan Tongbao set the standard for the next thousand years of cast Chinese coinages until the early Republic of China.

Unlike earlier Chinese cash coins which had their legends based on their weight, the Kaiyuan Tongbao was notably the first Chinese cash coin to use thetōng bǎo( thông bảo ) inscription and simultaneously inspired theyuán bǎo( nguyên bảo ) inscription.[15][16]The reason that the Kaiyuan Tongbao also inspired theyuán bǎolegend is because the Chinese people themselves had trouble figuring out the correct character order, as the inscription is read in what was referred to as the"standard order"(top-bottom-right-left) some people accidentally read it in the wrong order as they had assumed that the inscription was read clockwise as Kaitong Yuanbao ( khai thông nguyên bảo ), this was also because rather than having the first two characters spell out the period title (which was Wu De when the Kaiyuan Tongbao was introduced), they had a different inscription. However this mistake in how the legend was read inspired theNorthwest ChineserebelShi Simingto cast his own cash coins with the inscription Shuntian Yuanbao ( thuận lòng trời nguyên bảo,shùn tiān yuán bǎo) cash coins first issued inLuoyangin 759, this coin however does have a clockwise inscription. Another term that was used to denote "the currency type" in Chinese coin inscriptions waszhòng bǎo( trọng bảo ) which could be translated as "heavy currency".[15]The first cash coin to have this inscription was the Qianyuan Zhongbao ( càn nguyên trọng bảo ) which was first produced in the year 759. The termsyuán bǎo( nguyên bảo ) andzhòng bǎo( trọng bảo ) which were both established during a 138 year period of the Tang dynasty would continue to be used on Chinese coins to the very end of theQing dynastyin 1911.[17][18][19][20]While the termtōng bǎo( thông bảo ) was even used longer with the last Chinese cash coin, theMinguo Tongbao( dân quốc thông bảo ) being produced inDongchuan,Yunnanduring theearly Republic of China period.

Another important difference with the inscription of the Kaiyuan Tongbao compared to earlier Chinese cash coins was that it was not written inseal scriptbut rather in the more plain calligraphicclerical script.[15]The Emperor asked one of China's most well-known calligraphers,Ouyang Xunto write down the legend of the cash coin.[15]This was also the first time in Chinese history that a famous calligrapher wrote the characters for a Chinese cash coin.[9]Minting and copper extraction were centrally controlled, and private casting was punishable by death. For the first time we find regulations giving the prescribed coinage alloy: 83%copper,15%lead,and 2%tin.Previously the percentages used seem to have been on an ad hoc basis. Actual analyses show rather less copper than this.[5]

The standard weight of the Kaiyuan Tongbao was 1mace,but a notable thing about the cash coins of the Tang dynasty is, that for the first and only time in the monetary history of China, the coins grew bigger and heavier during the reign of the dynasty.[21]

TheNew Book of Tangstates that the imperial government specified the alloy ratio for Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins upon their introduction at 21,200 jin of copper, 3700 jin of pewter, and 500 jin of black tin (equivalent to 83% Cu and 17% Pb + Sn) per mint.[14]At first, mints were set up in Luoyang in Henan, and also in Peking, Chengdu, Bingzhou (Taiyuan in Shanxi), and thenGuilininGuangxi.Minting rights were also granted to some princes and officials. By 660, deterioration of the coinage due to forgery had become a problem. The regulations were reaffirmed in 718, and forgeries suppressed. In 737, the first commissioner with overall responsibility for casting was appointed. 1 furnace that produced 3.3 million Kaiyuan Tongbao coins a year during the Tian Bao period between 713 and 756 would need 21220 jin of copper, 3709 jin of tin, and 540 jin per regulation of lead and had an average waste of 23,5 %. The Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins produced during the Tian Bao period had an officially set copper alloy however some Kaiyuan coins from this period were blue or white it's likely that other alloys were also used.[22][23]In 739, ten mints were recorded, with a total of 89 furnaces casting some 327,000stringsof cash a year.[5]123liangof metal were needed to produce a string of coins weighing 100liang.[5]In the late 740s, skilled artisans were employed for casting, rather than conscripted peasants.[5]Despite these measures, the coinage continued to deteriorate.[5]In 808, a ban on hoarding coins was proclaimed.[5]This was repeated in 817.[5]Regardless of the rank of a person, they could not hold more than 5,000 strings of cash.[5]Cash balances exceeding this amount had to be expended within two months to purchase goods.[5]This was an attempt to compensate for the lack of cash in circulation.[5]By 834, mint output had fallen to 100,000 strings a year, mainly due to the shortage of copper. Forgeries using lead and tin alloys were produced.[5]

Due to the fact that this continued to be produced for two centuries by various mints all over China there are several hundred varieties of the Kaiyuan Tongbao that can be distinguished from each other due to slight differences.[15]

The Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins that were first cast until the height of the Tang period, early issues can be very accurately assigned to their time of casting and archeological evidence from Tang era tombs indeed prove that the first stroke of the character "Nguyên" are shorter than later versions, for this reason these coins are referred to as "short one yuan" ( đoản một nguyên,duǎn yī yuán) versions.[15]A lesser quantity of these early Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins are made from what the Chinese call "white copper" ( bạch đồng,bái tóng) and are subsequently referred to as "White Copper/Baitong Kaiyuan Tongbao coins" ( bạch đồng khai nguyên thông bảo,báitóng kāiyuán tōng bǎo) today, however during the Tang dynasty itself they were given the nickname "pure coins" ( thanh tiền,qīng qián) which also became the basis for the nickname ( ngoại hiệu ) of "pure coin scholar" ( thanh tiền học sĩ,qīng qián xué shì) which was given toEmperor Gaozongas his writings were said to resemble the coins.[15]

There also exist Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins which are differentiated by their second horizontal stroke, other than the first variant these others quite rare.[15]The following versions of the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin can be distinguished by the "Nguyên" character's second horizontal stroke (or "shoulder" ):[15][d]

English(nick)name Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese Differentiating characteristic Image
Left shoulder Kaiyuan Tongbao Tả đẩy ra nguyên thông bảo Tả đẩy ra nguyên thông bảo The left "shoulder" slants upwards.
Right shoulder Kaiyuan Tongbao Hữu đẩy ra nguyên thông bảo Hữu đẩy ra nguyên thông bảo The right "shoulder" slants upwards.
Two shoulders Kaiyuan Tongbao Song đẩy ra nguyên thông bảo Song đẩy ra nguyên thông bảo Both "shoulders" slant upwards.
No shoulder Kaiyuan Tongbao Không đẩy ra nguyên thông bảo Không đẩy ra nguyên thông bảo neither "shoulder" slants upwards.

Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins also commonly have differentiating features on their reverse, these can include crescents which according to legend happened when eitherEmpress ZhangsunorEmpress Taimuor in some versions of the storyYang Guifeipressed her fingernail into a specimen Kaiyuan Tongbao coin made from wax.[15][24]Other sources claim that the crescents were added due to foreign influence.[15]Today it is widely believed that these crescents were marks of quality used by various mints.[15]

Other than crescents, there were several Kaiyuan Tongbao coins with other reverse decorations, these include:[15]

English(nick)name Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese Differentiating characteristic Image
Crescent Moon Kaiyuan Tongbao Nguyệt văn khai nguyên thông bảo Nguyệt văn khai nguyên thông bảo Has a crescent on its reverse.
Pregnant Star Kaiyuan Tongbao Dựng tinh khai nguyên thông bảo Dựng tinh khai nguyên thông bảo Has a dot on its reverse.
Double Moons Kaiyuan Tongbao Song nguyệt khai nguyên thông bảo Song nguyệt khai nguyên thông bảo Has two crescents on its reverse.
Star and Moon Kaiyuan Tongbao Tinh nguyệt khai nguyên thông bảo Tinh nguyệt khai nguyên thông bảo Has both a crescent and a dot on its reverse.
Auspicious Clouds Kaiyuan Tongbao Vân văn khai nguyên thông bảo Vân văn khai nguyên thông bảo Has clouds on its reverse.
3 Moons Kaiyuan Tongbao Sóng gợn khai nguyên thông bảo Sóng gợn khai nguyên thông bảo Has 3 crescents on its reverse.
4 Moons Kaiyuan Tongbao Tháng tư khai nguyên thông bảo Tháng tư khai nguyên thông bảo Has 4 crescents on its reverse.
4 Stars Kaiyuan Tongbao Bốn sao khai nguyên thông bảo Bốn sao khai nguyên thông bảo Has 4 dots on its reverse.

Early Kaiyuan Tongbao coins are easily identified due to their deeply cut characters that never touch the rim of the coin, these are called "separate from the rim" Kaiyuan Tongbao coins (simplified Chinese:Cách luân khai nguyên thông bảo;traditional Chinese:Cách luân khai nguyên thông bảo;pinyin:gélún kāiyuán tōng bǎo), while the reverse of these coins tend to have uniform and clear rims.[15]Later variants of the Kaiyuan Tongbao often have excess metal between the strokes of the Hanzi characters and even later variants have characters with strokes so long that they touch the rim, meanwhile the rims on the reverse side of these Kaiyuan Tongbao coins tend to be irregular and relatively flat.[15][25][26]

Huichang era Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins

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Huichang Kaiyuan Tongbao(simplified Chinese:Sẽ xương khai nguyên thông bảo;traditional Chinese:Sẽ xương khai nguyên thông bảo;pinyin:huìchāng kāiyuán tōng bǎo) cash coins are a series of Kaiyuan Tongbao coins produced underEmperor Wuzongwho was a devoutTaoistand used thereign era nameofhuìchāng( sẽ xương ), during the 5th year of this epoch (845) Emperor Wuzong ordered the casting of new coins with the inscription Kaiyuan Tongbao to be manufactured of bronze acquired by melting confiscated statues, copper bells, gongs, incense burners, and other copper items fromBuddhisttemples.[5][27]These local mints were under the control of the provincial governors. TheNew Tang Historystates thatLi Shen,governor ofHuainanprovince, requested that the empire might cast coins bearing the name of the prefecture in which they were cast, and this was agreed. These Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins differed from earlier variants due to the fact that they had the characterchāng( xương ) on their reverse side, other mints in China then adopted this and soon 23 mints produced Kaiyuan Tongbao coins with their own mint marks.[15]Huichang Kaiyuan Tongbao coins are also of inferior workmanship compared to earlier coins and are diminutive in size.[5]When EmperorEmperor Xuanzongascended to the throne in the year 846, the aforementioned policy was reversed, and the new coins were recast to make Buddhist statues.[5][27]

The following mint marks could be found on Huichang Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins:[15]

Mint mark
(Traditional Chinese)		 Mint mark
(Simplified Chinese)		 Pinyin Place of issue Image
Xương Xương Chāng Huichang
Kinh Kinh Jīng Jingzhao[e]
Lạc Lạc Luò Luoyang
Ích Ích Yì Yizhou
Kinh Kinh Jīng Jingzhou
Tương Tương Xiāng Xiangzhou
Lam Lam Lán Lantian[f]
Càng Càng Yuè Yuezhou
Tuyên Tuyên Xuān Xuancheng
Hồng Hồng Hóng Hongzhou
Đàm Đàm Dǎn Changsha[g]
Duyện Duyện Yǎn Yanzhou
Nhuận Nhuận Rùn Jiangsu
Ngạc Ngạc È Ezhou
Bình Bình Píng Pingzhou
Hưng Hưng Xīng Xingyuan
Lương Lương Liáng Liangzhou
Quảng Quảng Guǎng Guangzhou
Tử Tử Zǐ Dongchuan
Phúc Phúc Fú Fuzhou[h]
Quế Quế Guì GuiyangorGuizhou
Đan Đan Dān Danzhou
Vĩnh Vĩnh Yǒng Yongzhou[i]

Turtle shell coins

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13 Kaiyuan Tongbaoturtle shell coins(traditional Chinese:Đồi mồi tệ;simplified Chinese:Đồi mồi tệ;pinyin:Dàimào bì), made fromHawksbill sea turtleshell, were discovered at theFamen Templein 1987.[28]In 1987 a large number of treasures dating to the Tang dynasty period were uncovered at the site.[29]Among the over 27,000 cash coins found at the temple there were 13 turtle shell cash coins with the inscription Kaiyuan Tongbao, they have a diameter of 2.75 centimeters, a thickness of 0.06 centimeters, and a weight of 24.8 grams.[28]

InBuddhismturtle shells are among the 7 treasures and these cash coins may have been made to commemorate a very special occasion.[28]Likely by the order of a Tang dynasty emperor to honour a sacred relic ofGautama Buddhathat was located at the Famen Temple.[28]

"《 Phật nói Đà La ni tập kinh 》 trung rằng: “Này thất bảo giả: Một kim nhị bạc tam trân châu bốn san hô năm đồi mồi sáu thủy tinh bảy lưu li”.

This tantra states that there are seven "treasures" or precious things: (1) gold, (2) silver, (3) pearl, (4) coral, (5)turtle shell,(6) crystal, (7) colored glaze. "

- Dharani Samuccaya Sutra ( Phật nói Đà La ni tập kinh,Fú shuō tuóluóní jí jīng), translated into English byGary Ashkenazy( thêm · a cái khải nạp tề ) from thePrimal Trek – a journey through Chinese culturewebsite.[28]

As no mention of these turtle shell Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins exist in any historical records or text both Chinese archaeologists and numismatists were surprised with the find.[28]Experts do note that the number of the coins (13) is considered auspicious in Buddhism, which may be related to the fact that there are 13 turtle shell coins.[28]This is further reflected in there being 13 sects in ChineseMahayana Buddhism,13, floors at theTibetanPotala Palaceand that the Famen Pagoda (where the coins were found) also had 13 floors.[28]

As of 2021 these were the oldest known turtle shell coins found anywhere in the world.[28]

Other variants

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Description Image
There is a lead Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coin of uncertain attribution (being either produced byMa Chuor theSouthern Han).[30]While the Tang dynasty period Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins tended to be copper-alloy uniform-sized coins with inscriptions inclerical script,these lead cash coins are typically poorly-cast with very irregular and poorly written characters. Furthermore, these lead coins are smaller, thinner, and lighter than the original Kaiyuan Tongbao and contain larger square central holes indicating that they have less metal than the original coins they were based on.[30]Another noticeable difference between the original copper-alloy Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins from the Tang dynasty and the later made lead Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins is that the inscription of the lead versions are read counterclockwise (top, left, bottom, right) as opposed to the original ones which are read top-to-bottom, right-to-left.[30]Furthermore, the way that these characters are written is also unorthodox with the first characterKai( khai, "Open" ) being written upside down, theYuan( nguyên, "Primal", "Beginning" ), is rotated to the right so the top of this character is actually facing the centre square hole, theTong( thông, "To circulate" ), is rotated to the left with the right side of the character facing the square centre hole, and the fourth character,Bao( bảo, "Treasure" ), being written upside down.[30]
There is a copper-alloy cash coin presumably made following the collapse of the Tang dynasty with the inscription Kaiyuan Zhongbao ( khai nguyên trọng bảo ), the exact origins of this Kaiyuan Zhongbao are unknown being possibly an amulet or a later made Japanese copy.[30]One such Kaiyuan Zhongbao sold in 2011 at the China Guardian Auctions for about $925.[30]The Kaiyuan Zhongbao is a relatively well-made copper-alloy cash coin with its inscription written in largely uniform character which only slightly differ in size.[30]It is 33 mm in diameter as opposed to the 24 mm of the original Kaiyuan Tongbao, this is likely because at the time "Zhongbao" ( trọng bảo ) cash coins were valued at 10wénas opposed to "Tongbao" ( thông bảo ) cash coins which were only valued at 1wén.[30]
There is a lead Kaiyuan Zhongbao ( khai nguyên trọng bảo ) cash coin which rather than featuring the characterBao( bảo ) has a picture of asycee(silver and gold ingots) on its left side.[30]The shape of the sycee is illustrated in the most common shape so it would be easily recognisable by Chinese people, as sycees were a very high denomination form of money, they would therefore represent a "treasure" and would easily substitute the actual word, meaning that people could easily recognise it.[30]The actual origins of this "Kaiyuan Zhongsycee"coin are unclear, it was found in the same area as other lead Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins and were likely produced by either Ma Chu or Southern Tang.[30]
There is unique a later made variant of the Kaiyuan Tongbao with the inscription Kaiyuan Zhongtong ( khai nguyên thông trọng ), this inscription is quite unusual because typically the character "Tong" ( thông ) indicates that a cash coin has a denomination of 1wén,while the character "Zhong" ( trọng ) typically means that a cash coin was valued at 10wén.[30]The person who owns this unique cash coin thinks that whoever made the cash coin mould was likely just careless and they mistakenly used "Trọng" instead "Bảo" and speculates that the Kaiyuan Zhongtong may be the earliest known specimen of any Chinese cash coin having such a clerical error to have been discovered.[30]If the Kaiyuan Zhongtong was produced due to an error in the production of its mould nobody at the time of its production either noticed or seemed to care about its inscription, though it is likely that only a small number of cash coins with this inscription were cast from the mould as only a single specimen has ever been found (as of 2021).[30]

Mintage figures

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The maximum annual output of mints during the Tang dynasty was 327.000strings(327.000.000 cash coins).[31]

Counterfeit coins

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Counterfeit cash coins(traditional Chinese:Ác tiền;simplified Chinese:Ác tiền;pinyin:È qián;lit.'Bad money') were rampant during the Tang dynasty period, counterfeit Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins were of inferior quality, they were typically lighter or were made with alloys containing larger percentages of cheaper metals, such as iron and lead, reducing the Intrinsic value of the cash coins in circulation.[14]TheOld Book of Tangclaims that theJianghuairegion, the two capital (Chang'anandLuoyang) regions, theHebeiregion, and theNanlingregion were most seriously affected by counterfeit cash coins.[14]The introduction and circulation of counterfeit cash coins negatively affected the economy by causing inflation and reducing social stability.[14]

The emergence of coin counterfeiting in China is rooted in the development of the commodity economy and the scarcity of money.[14]The counterfeiting of cash coins prevailed due to a number of factors, primarily based on the market demand for money, while the production of official cash coins was being constrained by the prohibitively high costs associated with their manufacture.[14]The cost of casting wasn't just affected by production costs such as the volume of fuel and manpower, but also by acquisition costs relating to the scarcity of copper, as well as the cost of transportation.[14]These factors all created a market incentive to produce counterfeit cash coins to fill the demand for currency.[14]

Thegovernment of the Tang dynastyexplicitly forbade coin counterfeiting and actively took measures to eliminate the bad Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins that were illegally produced.[14]Despite their efforts, the crackdown on counterfeit cash coins proved largely to be unsuccessful.[14]Despite the official regulations requiring government mints to cast cash coins with high copper content, examinations of the chemical composition of official Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins reveal higher tin and lead contents that don't match the official alloy compositions mentioned in the historical records.[14]A 2004 analysis revealed that officially produced Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins were on average 70.21% copper, 17.85% lead, and 8.64% tin, the researchers hypothesised that counterfeit cash coins were probably those with exceptionally high lead content (>36 wt%).[14]Researcher Liu of the Chinese numismatic society believed that the government regulations requiring high copper content in the official alloys were only introduced to curb the cash coin counterfeiting.[14]

Influence outside of China

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Japan

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Japanese"Fuhonsen" and later theWadōkaichinwere modelled after the Tang dynasty's Kaiyuan Tongbao coin using similar calligraphy.[32]

Sogdia

[edit]
A Sogdian cash coin.

During excavations in the historicallySogdiancities ofAfrasiab(oldSamarkand) andPendjikenta large number of Sogdian coins were uncovered, theSovietnumismatist Smirnova listed in her catalogue on Sogdian coins from 1573 published in 1981 a large number of coins of which several were based on Kaiyuan Tongbao's. Sogdian coins tend to be produced independently by each city and contain tribal mint marks known astamgha's,[33]some cities used coins based onPersiancoinages (which made up 13.2% of the known variants), while others preferred Chinese cash coins which were influenced by the Tang dynasty's western expanse during the seventh century (cash style coins also made up the majority of Sogdian coins and accounted for 86.7% of all known variants), as well as hybrid coins which feature an image based on a square hole on one side of the coin and a portrait of the King in the other side (these made up 0.7% of the known variants).

A number of Sogdian coins even imitate the Kaiyuan Tongbao inscription directly, but on their reverses have added Sogdiantamgha'son the right or left side of the hole as well as the Sogdian word for "lord". The modern era these Sogdian Kaiyuan Tongbao coins are reproduced in large numbers by forgers inHong Kong,these forgeries have proven to be very difficult to differentiate from the original coins and are abundant in quantity.[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]

Vietnam

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Vietnamese cash coinsproduced from theĐinhuntil the lateTrần dynastytend to be heavily based on the Chinese Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins, an example would be theLý dynastyeraThiên Tư Nguyên Bảo( thiên tư nguyên bảo ) cash coins cast under EmperorLý Cao Tôngwhich uses two distinct styles of Chinese calligraphy, one of them is a native Lý dynasty style and the other is based on the Kaiyuan Tongbao, often the Chinese character "Nguyên" ( nguyên ) on older Vietnamese coins is copied directly from Chinese Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, particularly how the left hook of the character moves upwards, although variants of the characters in "pure Vietnamese styles" were cast simultaneously. Like many Kaiyuan Tongbao coins many of these early Vietnamese cash coins would add reverse crescents or mint marks which were often wholly borrowed from the calligraphic style of the Kaiyuan Tongbao. Every early Vietnamese cash coin that has a reverse inscription is based on the Kaiyuan Tongbao.[42]

Modern influence

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See also:Cash coins in art
  • In 2013 a sculpture of a Kaiyuan Tongbao with a diameter of 24 meters (or 78.7 feet) and a thickness of 3.8 meters (or 12.5 feet) was constructed to be displayed at theBaoshan National Mining Park( bảo quốc gia gia khu mỏ công viên )theme parkin theGuiyang PrefectureofChenzhou,Hunan.The sculpture is notably of a Huichang Kaiyuan Tongbao with theGui( quế ) mint mark.[45][46]

Hoards of Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins

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See also:List of coin hoards in ChinaandList of coin hoards in Vietnam

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^Kaiyuan Tongbao coins were also produced inSogdia.
  2. ^The majority of Kaiyuan Tongbao coins were made from bronze.
  3. ^Iron Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins were predominantly cast inSichuanwhere there had been a shortage of copper. There is evidence that iron Kaiyuan Tongbao coins also circulated inHebeiunder the Tang dynasty.
  4. ^Excavations during the 1950s at a Buddhist pagoda on Niushou Hill inJiangningindicated that there might be evidence that the Right Shoulder Kaiyuan Tongbao and Two Shoulders Kaiyuan Tongbao variants might have been cast aroundNanjing.
  5. ^There exists a rare version of this coin that has a mirrored version of this mint mark.
  6. ^There exists a variant that has three clouds on the reverse. Another uncommon Huichang era coin from Lantian has the four character reverse inscriptiontài píng dà wáng( thái bình đại vương ).
  7. ^There exists a lead version of this coin.
  8. ^The majority of the Huichang Kaiyuan Tongbao coins minted in Fuzhou have the mint mark above the squar hole while there are less common versions with the mint mark either to the right or below the square hole.
  9. ^Huichang Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins with the "yong" ( vĩnh ) mint are the rarest.

References

[edit]
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  5. ^abcdefghijklmnoHartill 2005,p. 103.
  6. ^Cổ văn tiền, nhưng đến 500 năm ở ngoài giả có thể dùng, mà đường Cao Tổ đúc ra khai nguyên thông bảo, đến nặng nhẹ lớn nhỏ bên trong, đặc biệt cổ kim sở trọng (Ancient money can be used if it is more than five hundred years old, but the Kaiyuan Tongbao cast byEmperor Gaozuof the Tang Dynasty is especially important in ancient and current times.) -Compendium of Materia Medica( minh · Bản Thảo Cương Mục ) byLi Shizhen( Lý Thời Trân ).
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Sources

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