Item number: A930

Year: AD 1179-1189

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.5 x 23.9 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 2.85 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This coin originates from the reign of Emperor Shizong of the Jin Dynasty, with historical records indicating it was first minted from AD 1179 to AD 1189.

The obverse of the coin is round with a square hole in the centre. Despite some rust and damage, the inscriptions “Dading Tongbao” (大定通寶) can still be discerned. The characters are written in regular script, with slender and vigorous strokes, resembling the Song Dynasty’s imitation Song style.

Typically, the reverse side of this coin is blank, but this particular coin features the character “酉.” There are also coins with the character “申” on the reverse, though they are rare.

Both “酉” and “申” are units of the Earthly Branches in the Chinese Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches system, which is a traditional method for recording time, dates, and years. The system pairs one Heavenly Stem with one Earthly Branch, representing a specific year.

Each cycle consists of sixty pairs, known as a sexagenary cycle, with the first pair being “甲子.” Completing one cycle, equivalent to sixty years, is referred to as a “jiazi” or “flower cycle.”(花甲)

Some experts believe that the characters “申” and “酉” denote specific years in the sexagenary cycle, corresponding to the 28th year of Dading (Wushen) and the 29th year of Dading (Jiyou).

Others experts suggest that because “申” and “酉” are associated with the element of metal in the Five Elements theory, they were considered auspicious symbols for the nation’s fortune.

“Dading” was the sole reign title used during Emperor Shizong’s reign, lasting for 29 years. The term “Dading” signifies the belief in the unification and stabilization of the empire following the conquest of the Song Dynasty by the Jin Dynasty.

物件編號: A930

年代: 公元 1179-1189 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.5 x 23.9 x 1.0 mm

重量: 2.85 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是一枚出自金朝世宗時期的年號錢幣，史書記載始鑄於公元1179-1189年。該枚錢幣的正面為圓形，中央為方形穿孔，雖略有鏽蝕及破損，但錢幣文字依稀可見「大定通寶」四字，為楷書，筆畫瘦勁，形如宋代仿宋體。

通常，此幣錢背以無文居多，但此枚錢幣特別，背面有一字「酉」。背面亦有「申」字錢，只是為數不多，頗為稀有。「酉」與「申」皆為中國天干地支中，地支的計序單位。

干支，全名為天干地支，為中國的傳統曆法，是紀錄時間、日期、年月的基本單位。十天干十二地支，一天干一地支的搭配，即為一對干支，代表一個特定年份。每六十對干支為一循環(干支第一序位為甲子)，代表經歷了六十年，稱為一甲子，又名花甲年。

有專家認為此二字(申、酉)為地支紀年，即為大定28年（戊申）及大定29年（己酉），也有認為因申酉在五行中屬「金」，而能成為國運祥瑞之物。

「大定」為金世宗在位時期的唯一年號，使用時間長達29年，大定一詞的原意帶有「金朝滅宋，平定天下後復歸統一」的信念。