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Ming Dynasty
Hongwu Tongbao
明 洪武通寶
Item number: A1087
Year: AD 1368-1398
Material: Bronze
Size: 23.1 x 22.7 x 0.9 mm
Weight: 2.85 g
Provenance:
1. Noonans 2022
2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection
This is a bronze coin minted by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, after he ascended the throne in AD 1368. The coin bears the inscription “Hongwu Tongbao,” corresponding to his reign title.
The coin follows the typical design of square-holed coins. On the obverse side, the four characters “Hongwu Tongbao” are inscribed in regular script in the order of top, bottom, right, and left. The reverse side is plain, without any patterns or inscriptions.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a peasant and monk background, imposed numerous restrictions on merchants after establishing the Ming Dynasty. These measures were intended to prevent the exploitation of farmers and achieve the dual goals of state control over the population. To realise his ideal of a small-scale agrarian economy, Zhu Yuanzhang continued the coinage system he had used during his rebellion against the Mongols. He standardised the coinage into five denominations: “Small cash,” “two-fold cash,” “Three-fold cash,” “Five cash,” and “Ten cash.”
Zhu Yuanzhang’s coinage policy contradicted the principle that, with the growth of population and economic development, societal demand for currency would inevitably increase. Additionally, copper coins were impractical for large-scale long-distance trade. Despite Zhu Yuanzhang’s adoption of paper currency policies from the Yuan Dynasty and his further prohibition of copper coins in the 27th year of the Hongwu reign (AD 1394), these measures led to a social and economic crisis. It was not until AD 1408, during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang’s son, the Yongle Emperor, that the issuance of copper coins was resumed.