Item number: A583

Year: AD 1853

Material: Brass

Size: 22.1 x 22.0 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 3.2 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a coin from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period of the Qing Dynasty. The coin is round with a square hole in the centre. The obverse side features the four characters “太平天國” (Taiping Tianguo) arranged top to bottom, right to left. The reverse side has the two characters “聖寶” (Shengbao) arranged right to left. Despite some corrosion, the coin shows clear signs of age.

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom coins were made from various materials, primarily copper, with some made of lead, iron, gold, and silver. The coins have two main characteristics: first, none of them bear a denomination, with the inscriptions mostly in Song-style script and some in regular script; second, the coins are all named “聖寶” (Shengbao), with “聖” (Holy) referring to Jesus Christ. The inscriptions on the coins are diverse: some have “天國” on the obverse and “通寶” on the reverse; others have “天國” on the obverse and “聖寶” on the reverse; some have “太平天國” on the obverse and “聖寶” on the reverse; and others have “天國聖寶” on the obverse and “太平” on the reverse. Additionally, the inscriptions can be written horizontally or vertically.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was the largest peasant rebellion in Qing Dynasty history, spanning the Daoguang, Xianfeng, and Tongzhi reigns. The regime was mainly active in Jiangnan and the two Guangdong provinces.

The name “Taiping Heavenly Kingdom” is linked to Christian beliefs, as its founder Hong Xiuquan had a Christian background. He launched the rebellion with the slogan “All under Heaven are equal, sharing peace” in Jintian Village, Guiping County, Guangxi, in the 30th year of Daoguang (AD 1850). The kingdom was established in the first year of Xianfeng (AD 1851) and was named the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, with its capital in Nanjing, renamed Tianjing.

In the third year of Xianfeng (AD 1853), after establishing the capital in Nanjing, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom issued the “Land System of the Heavenly Kingdom,” which proposed an equal distribution of land. They also began minting coins and implementing tax policies. Records show that coins were minted in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing, and Huizhou, indicating that these coins were in circulation within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

物件編號: A583

年代: 公元 1853 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 22.1 x 22.0 x 0.9 mm

重量: 3.2 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是一枚清朝太平天國時期的錢幣。本物件的特色顯明，幣面圓形，方形穿孔，正面錢文為上下右左排列的「太平天國」四字，背面錢文為由右至左排列的「聖寶」二字，包漿雖有鏽蝕，但看得出飽受滄桑，時代痕跡顯明。

太平天國制錢材料多種，主要為銅錢，少量鉛鐵錢、金銀幣。錢幣特點有二，其一，所有鑄幣，均不記值，錢文字體多為仿宋字，次為楷書；其二，貨幣皆以「聖寶」為名，聖字取意於救世主耶穌基督。不僅如此，其錢文也十分多樣：錢幣正面文字有面為「天國」、背「通寶」的；有面為「天國」、背「聖寶」的；有面為「太平天國」、背「聖寶」的；有面為「天國聖寶」、背「太平」的，此外，正背面的文字亦有橫寫、豎寫之分。

太平天國為清代歷史上最大規模的農民反抗，歷經道光、咸豐、同治三朝，其政權主要活躍於江南、兩粵等地。太平天國之名，與基督信仰有關，因創辦人洪秀全有著基督背景，以「天下一家，共享太平」的口號，在清道光三十年（AD 1850）廣西桂平縣金田村舉兵反抗清朝。最終於清咸豐元年（AD 1851）建國，號太平天國，建都南京，並改稱為「天京」。

咸豐三年（AD 1853），太平天國在南京定都後，遂頒發《天朝田畝制度》，制定了人口平分土地的辦法，同時開始鑄造錢幣，實行經稅政策。不久後，在蘇州、杭州、紹興、嘉興、徽州等太平天國活躍地，都有鑄幣紀錄，表示該錢為太平天國的流通幣。