Item number: A1054

Year: AD 1645-1646

Material: Brass

Size: 24.7 x 24.5 x 0.8 mm

Weight: 2.65 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D.L.F. Sealy Collection

This is a “Longwu Tongbao” coin minted by the second ruler of the Southern Ming court, Prince Tang, Zhu Yujian, following the martyrdom of the Chongzhen Emperor in Beijing. The coin follows the typical square-holed design. On the obverse side, the four characters “Longwu Tongbao” are inscribed in regular script, arranged in the order of top, bottom, right, and left. The script is notably slender. The reverse side of the coin is plain, without any inscriptions or patterns.

The “Longwu Tongbao” coin comes in various types, one of which is distinguished by the position of the dot stroke in the character “武” (Wu). The standard version features the correct placement of the dot stroke, but there exists another version where the dot stroke is positioned lower.

In May AD 1645, after the Qing army captured Nanjing and took the first ruler of the Southern Ming, Prince Fu, into custody, local warlords in Fujian, led by Zheng Zhilong, installed Prince Tang, Zhu Yujian, as “Regent” to continue the resistance against the Qing. In gratitude for the Zheng family’s support, Prince Tang bestowed his royal surname “Zhu” upon Zheng Zhilong’s son, Zheng Chenggong, who became famously known as “Koxinga” (國姓爺) throughout the coastal regions of East Asia.

However, in AD 1646, Zheng Zhilong secretly surrendered to the Qing, allowing the Qing army to invade Fujian on a large scale. During his escape, Zhu Yujian was killed by the Qing forces, marking the end of the Longwu reign title.

物件編號: A1054

年代: 公元 1645-1646 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 24.7 x 24.5 x 0.8 mm

重量: 2.65 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是明朝崇禎皇帝在北京殉國後，殘存的南明朝廷第二任統治者唐王朱聿鍵以年號鑄造的「隆武通寶」。錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢。錢幣正面按上、下、右、左的順序，依序以楷書書法鐫刻漢字「隆武通寶」四字，字體十分纖細。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何的圖案或文字。

隆武通寶有多種版型，其中一種為依「武」字的「點」筆畫位置作為區別。該錢幣的「武」字為正確的寫法，尚有另一種「點」筆畫的位置在下方的版本。

公元1645年5月，清軍攻克南京俘虜南明的第一位統治者福王後，以鄭芝龍為首的地方軍閥在福建擁立唐王朱聿鍵為「監國」，持續跟清朝對抗。唐王為感謝鄭氏家族的輔佐，將國姓「朱」賜予鄭芝龍的兒子鄭成功，自此鄭成功以「國姓爺」大名響徹東亞沿海一帶。然而公元1646年，隨著鄭芝龍秘密降清，清軍大舉進入福建，朱聿鍵在逃亡途中為清軍殺害，就此結束隆武年號。