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Later Jin,
Tianming Khan Coin
後金 天命汗錢
Item number: A991
Year: AD 1616-1626
Material: Brass
Size: 26.8 x 26.1 x 1.3 mm
Weight: 5.05 g
Provenance:
1. Noonans 2022
2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection
This is the “Tianming Khan Coin,” a Manchu brass coin minted by Nurhaci, the founder of the Qing Empire. In the 44th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1616), Nurhaci declared the establishment of the Later Jin state with the era name “Tianming” at Hetu Ala, located in present-day Liaoning Province. This coin was issued after the formal announcement of the Later Jin state, marking the beginning of a political entity that would later challenge the Ming Empire.
The design of this coin emulates the square-holed cash coins used by the Ming Empire. On the obverse, the coin features inscriptions in Old Manchu script—the script used by the Manchus before their conquest of China, which lacks the circular dots that later marked Manchu characters. The characters are arranged in a sequence following the left, right, top, and bottom order: “ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ” (Heaven), “ᡶ᠋ᠣᠯᡳ᠍ᡢᡴᠠ” (Mandate), “ᡴᠠᠨ” (Khan), and “ᠵᡳᡴᠠ” (Coin). The first two characters together represent Nurhaci’s reign title, “Tianming,” while the latter two mean “Khan’s coin.” The reverse side of the coin is plain, without any additional markings.
In addition to minting these Manchu-script coins, Nurhaci also produced a series of copper coins inscribed with the Chinese characters “Tianming Tongbao.” The Manchu-script coins are generally larger in diameter compared to the Chinese-script versions.
In AD 1234, after the Mongols defeated the Jurchens in northern China, leading to the fall of the Jin Dynasty, the remaining Jurchen forces retreated to their ancestral lands in the northeastern region, gradually reverting to a tribal state. During the Ming Dynasty, the Jurchens were broadly divided into three major groups: the Jianzhou Jurchens, the Haixi Jurchens, and the Wild Jurchens. Nurhaci, who was from the Jianzhou Jurchens—a group that had frequent interactions with the Ming Empire—belonged to a family that initially served the Ming.
However, in AD 1583, after his grandfather and father were mistakenly killed by the Ming, Nurhaci resolved to rebel. He subsequently unified the various Jurchen tribes and gradually encroached on Ming territories beyond the Great Wall. In AD 1626, Nurhaci died after an unsuccessful attempt to capture Ningyuan Fortress. His unfinished ambitions were carried on by his son, Hong Taiji. In AD 1636, Hong Taiji renamed the state “Great Qing” and rebranded his people as “Manchus.” In AD 1644, Nurhaci’s young grandson, the Shunzhi Emperor, successfully took control of Beijing, becoming the new ruler of the Central Plains.