Item number: A181

Year: 113 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 93.0 x 228.0 mm / thick: 9.0-35.0 mm

Weight: 1448.4 g

Provenance: Heritage Auctions 2023

This artefact is a bronze mould cast in the fourth year of Yuandi (113 BC), which is a coin mould of the San Guan Wu Zhu (三官五銖) coins during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (漢武帝). The central part of this artefact has undergone repair and shows signs of rusting. On the obverse side of the coin mould, there are six sets of double-sided Wu (Five) Zhu coin moulds, with the first three sets featuring clear inscriptions of “Wu Zhu” written in seal script.

“Wu Zhu” coins are the most numerous and longest circulating currency in the history of Chinese coinage. First minted in the fifth year of Yuanshou of Emperor Wu (118 BC), they were subsequently minted in the Eastern Han, Shu Han, Wei, Jin, Southern Qi, Liang, Chen, Northern Wei, and Sui Dynasties, with no fixed standards regarding weight, size, or shape. Official circulation was formally abolished by the Tang Dynasty in the fourth year of the Wude era (AD 621), yet the old Wu Zhu coins continued to circulate widely among the populace.

To address monetary issues, Emperor Wu implemented six rounds of reforms. The fourth reform in the fifth year of Yuandi (118 BCE) replaced the San (Three) Zhu coins with Wu Zhu coins and explicitly prohibited the half-liang coins. The Wu Zhu coins introduced in this reform were known as “Jun Guo Wu Zhu (郡國五銖),” minted by various commanderies and kingdoms. However, due to discrepancies in technological capabilities and copper ore quality, coupled with the prevalent corruption among officials, the Jun Guo Wu Zhu coins became increasingly lighter over time, deviating from their nominal value and standard weight. The issue of private minting continually hampered the economic development of the Western Han Dynasty. The proliferation of privately minted coins led to their decreasing weight and increasing quantity, contributing to inflation, which in turn caused hardship for the populace, prompting people to abandon productive activities and seek livelihoods abroad or engage in risky endeavours such as entering the private minting industry.

To alleviate this situation, Emperor Wu initiated the fifth reform in the second year of Yuanding (115 BC), introducing the “Chi Ze Wu Zhu (赤仄五銖),” where one coin replaced five Jun Guo Wu Zhu coins. “Chi Ze” refers to its frame being made of red bronze, as described in “using red bronze as the frame. Now, coins with a red side can be seen.” However, due to its profitability, this reform attracted both private and counterfeit miners to produce Chi Ze Wu Zhu coins. In the fourth year of Yuandi (113 BCE), Emperor Wu implemented another reform, centralising the coin minting authority from various commanderies and kingdoms to the central government, enabling unified minting and issuance of Wu Zhu coins. The Wu Zhu coins issued in this reform were known as “San Guan Wu Zhu (三官五銖).” According to the “Treatise on the Balanced Standard (平準書)” of The Records of the Grand Historian (史記), it states that “henceforth, all commanderies and kingdoms are prohibited from minting coins, and the exclusive authority to mint coins is granted to the officials of the San Guan (Three Officials) in the Shang Lin (Upper Forest) Imperial Park.” The term “San Guan Wu Zhu” refers to the officials of Zhongguan (Chief Coiner), Junshu (Equalising Officer), and Biantong Ling (Inspector of Metal). These officials were appointed under the jurisdiction of the Shanglin Imperial Park as part of the Water Balance Office. Therefore, they are also referred to as “Shanglin San Guan Qian (上林三官錢)”. Due to the higher cost of counterfeiting, according to the “Treatise on the Balanced Standard (平準書)”, “there were fewer people who counterfeited coins among the populace, and their expenses could not match those of the true craftsmen; only skilled artisans and great scoundrels resorted to counterfeiting.” This reform effectively addressed the issues of private minting and counterfeiting, achieving significant success in monetary reform.

The term “money mould(錢範)” referred to various moulds and templates used in the casting of coins, which can be divided into three categories: ancestral moulds, model moulds, and casting moulds, each representing different stages of the production process. The “ancestral mould” was the first step in making moulds, usually made of materials such as wood, stone, or clay that are easy to carve, with the inscriptions in a reverse seal script form. The “model mould” was cast or made from the ancestral mould, and can be made of materials such as copper, clay, or lead, with the inscriptions in a regular seal script form. The “casting mould” referred to the mould directly used for casting coins, which could be directly carved or cast from the model mould, and could be made of materials such as stone, clay, or copper, with the inscriptions in a reverse seal script form.

物件編號: A181

年代: 公元前 113年

材料: 青銅

尺寸: 93.0 x 228.0 mm / thick: 9.0-35.0 mm

重量: 1448.4 g

來源: 海瑞德拍賣行 2023

本物品為元鼎四年（公元前113年）所鑄的五銖銅質鑄模，是漢武帝時代的三官五銖錢範。本物中央曾被修補過，帶有鏽結。錢範正面刻有雙面的半兩硬幣模具，共六組，其中前三組的錢面及錢文清晰可見以篆書書寫的「五銖」。

「五銖」錢為中國錢幣歷史上數量最多、流通時間最長的錢幣。最早鑄於西漢漢武帝元狩五年（公元前118年），之後於東漢、蜀漢、魏、晉、南齊、梁、陳、北魏和隋都曾有鑄造，重量、形制大小均無定制。直至唐朝武德四年（公元621年）官方正式宣布廢止流通。但民間仍普遍持續流通使用舊五銖。

為解決幣制問題，漢武帝先後推行六次改革。其中，第四次改革（元狩五年）以五銖錢取代三銖，並明令廢止半兩錢。此次改革所推出的五銖錢被稱為「郡國五銖」，由各郡國鑄行。雖然此次改革的目的為解決私鑄問題，但由於技術水平以及銅礦成份參差不齊，再加上官員中飽私囊的舊習，使郡國五銖越鑄越輕，名義價值與法定重量漸漸不一致。私鑄的問題一直限制西漢經濟發展。私鑄錢幣使其愈來愈輕，其數量愈來愈多，而物價則愈來愈高。物價通脹導致民不聊生，使人民棄生產，流亡海外。只能以勞力換取金錢，或冒險進入私鑄行業以維生。 為善此情況，漢武帝推動第五次改革（元鼎二年），推行「赤仄五銖」，一枚取代五枚郡國五銖。「赤仄」意指其郭為赤銅「以赤銅為郭。今錢見有赤側者。」然而，由於其盜鑄獲利更多，故吸引了私鑄與盜鑄者鑄赤仄五銖。 漢武帝於元鼎四年再次推行改革，將鑄幣權從各郡國收歸中央政府，使中央政府對五銖進行統一鑄造和發行。 此次所發行的五銖錢被稱為「三官五銖」，根據《史記·平準書》「於是悉禁郡國無鑄錢，專令上林三官鑄」， 「三官五銖」中三官意指鍾官、均輸及辨銅令，均為設公於上林苑的水衡都尉的屬官，因此亦被稱為「上林三官錢」。由於其盜鑄成本較高「民之鑄錢益少，計其費不能相當，唯真工大奸乃盜為之」， 因此得以解決私鑄及盜鑄問題，使幣制改革取得了較大成功。

錢範是鑄造錢幣時的各種模具和範本的總稱，分為祖範、範模和鑄範三類，分別代表了製作過程中的不同階段。「祖範」是製作模具的第一步，通常使用木材、石材或泥坯等易於雕刻的材料，上面的文字呈現陰文反書的形式；「範模」是由祖範鑄造或製作而成，材質可以是銅、泥、鉛等，上面的文字呈現陽文正書的形式；「鑄範」則是指直接用來鑄造錢幣的模具，可以直接雕刻，或者是由範模鑄造而成，材質可以是石頭、泥土、銅等，上面的文字呈現陰文反書的形式。