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Han Dynasty
San Guan Wu Zhu Bronze Mould
漢武帝
五銖銅質鑄模
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.