Item number: A371

Year: AD 1878

Material: Silver

Size: 13.6 x 13.2 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 1.6 g

Manufactured by: Yengisar, Xinjiang

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a coin minted in the 4th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1878), following the recapture of the southern Xinjiang stronghold of Yengisar by Qing forces from Yakub Beg. To eliminate the circulation of Yakub Beg’s currency while respecting local trading customs, local Yengisar craftsmen were commissioned to manually produce the “Guangxu Tenga,” modelled after Yakub Beg’s currency. These silver coins typically weigh between 1.1 and 1.75 grams and have a denomination of “Five Fens.”

The coin’s obverse imitates the design of the Han Chinese “square-holed coin,” featuring a central square without a perforation, surrounded by two circular rings. Around the central square, the characters “Guangxu 1st year” are inscribed in the order of “top, bottom, right, left.” The Chinese characters are not very clear, indicating that the Uyghur craftsmen responsible for production were not familiar with Chinese script. Notably, in the first year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1875), Yengisar was still under Yakub Beg’s control. Compared to other Tenga silver coins produced by Qing forces in different oases, it can be inferred that “Guangxu 1st year” is a misprint, intended to be “Guangxu Silver Coin.”

The coin’s reverse, like the obverse, features two concentric circles around the edge. The remaining design elements reflect a strong Central Asian Islamic influence, retaining only Arabic-script Uyghur text. The inscription reads “Zarb Yengisar,” meaning “Minted in Yengisar.” Yengisar, one of the significant oases in the southern Xinjiang region known as the “Four Western Cities,” is renowned for its production of finely crafted small knives.

In the 3rd year of the Tongzhi Emperor’s reign (AD 1864), Xinjiang was influenced by the Dungan Revolt in the neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The Turkic-speaking Muslims of Xinjiang, sharing the same faith, initiated uprisings to overthrow Qing rule, establishing various independent regimes in the region’s oases. In the following year, the 4th year of Tongzhi (AD 1865), Yakub Beg, a military officer from the neighbouring Central Asian Khanate of Kokand, was invited into Xinjiang. He soon took control, establishing the Yettishar Khanate in southern Xinjiang.

Yakub Beg introduced a Central Asian currency system with the use of Tilla (gold), Tenga (silver), and Pul (copper), which was quickly accepted by the local Muslim population due to their shared Islamic faith. At that time, the Qing dynasty, preoccupied with the Taiping Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt, lacked the resources to reclaim Xinjiang. It wasn’t until the 2nd year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (AD 1876) that Zuo Zongtang, the Hunan Army general responsible for quelling the Dungan Revolt, launched a military campaign to defeat Yakub Beg.

In the 3rd year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (October AD 1877), after the Qing army first recaptured Kucha, they aimed to assert their restored authority and reclaim the coinage minted by Yakub Beg. Zhang Yao, the Guangdong provincial military commander assisting the military efforts, recruited local silversmiths to produce imitation tenga silver coins. As the Qing army continued to recapture cities, they repeated this process, minting similar coins in each newly liberated area. However, by the 6th year of Guangxu (AD 1880), Zuo Zongtang, the general overseeing Xinjiang, sought to address the issues of counterfeiting and poor-quality coins. He decided to replace the imitation tenga coins with new machine-minted silver currency.

物件編號: A371

年代: 公元 1878 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 13.6 x 13.2 x 1.0 mm

重量: 1.6 g

製造地: 英吉莎爾，新疆

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是一枚光緒4年(公元1878年)，清軍甫從阿古柏手中奪回南疆綠州重鎮的英吉莎爾後，一方面為銷毀阿古柏時期流通的貨幣，一方面又顧及當地居民交易習慣的權衡下，委由在地的英吉莎爾工匠模仿阿古柏貨幣，手工打造的「光緒天罡」。這些銀錢的重量大致落在1.1至1.75克之間，其面額為「五分」。

錢幣正面模仿漢地「方孔錢」形制，正中央是一個沒有穿孔的方形，外圍有兩道圓圈。方孔周圍按「上下右左」順序，寫有「光緒元年」四個漢字。錢幣的漢文字跡不甚清晰，顯然是負責生產的維吾爾族工匠不熟悉漢文而起。值得注意的是，光緒元年(公元1875)英吉莎爾仍在阿古柏掌控下，再跟清軍在其他綠洲製造的天罡銀幣比較，能推測「光緒元年」是「光緒銀錢」字樣的誤植。

錢幣背面，其外圍如同正面亦有兩道圓圈，其他部分則帶有濃厚的中亞伊斯蘭貨幣色彩，即僅保留阿拉伯書寫的維吾爾文，其字義是「英吉莎爾造」(Zarb Yengisar)。英吉莎爾是南疆「西四城」之一的重要綠洲，該城市以生產精美的小刀出名。

同治3年(公元1864年)，新疆受到鄰近的陝甘回變影響，擁有相同信仰的新疆突厥語系穆斯林發動推翻清廷的統治，於各個綠洲建立不同的政權。隔年同治4年(公元1865年)，接鄰的中亞浩罕汗國軍官阿古柏受邀進入新疆，不久即反客為主在南疆建立「哲德沙爾汗國」政權。阿古柏在統治區引入中亞的提拉(金)、天罡(銀)和普爾(銅)貨幣系統，迅速為同為伊斯蘭信仰的居民接受。彼時清廷面對太平天國和陝甘回變無力收復新疆，要待光緒2年(公元1876年)，負責平定陝甘回民的湘軍將領左宗棠，方才發起討伐阿古柏的軍事行動。

光緒3年(公元1877年)10月，清軍率先攻克庫車後，為彰顯恢復自身的統治和回收阿古柏鑄造的錢幣，協助軍務的廣東提督張曜招募當地銀匠，打造模仿阿古柏的天罡銀錢。後續清軍收復一座城池，便依樣畫葫在當地鑄造該類型的錢幣。直到光緒6年(公元1880年)，負責統領新疆的左宗棠為遏止延伸出的偽造和劣質等問題，決定改以機器鑄造新的銀幣取代天罡。