Item number: A839

Year: AD 649-907

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.2 x 24.4 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 2.65 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This coin, issued starting from the 4th year of the Wude era during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty (AD 621), replaced the “Wu Zhu” coinage system that had been in use since the Han Dynasty. Known as the “Kaiyuan Tongbao,” this coin represents the first instance in Chinese history where the term “Tongbao” was used in the naming of a coin. Its introduction profoundly influenced the development of Chinese coinage over the subsequent millennium.

This coin retains the traditional square-hole design. On the obverse side, the characters “Kaiyuan Tongbao” are inscribed sequentially from top, bottom, right, to left. However, there is also a theory that the characters should be read in a clockwise order as “Kaitong Yuanbao.”

The obverse side of this coin exhibits characteristics of the mid-period type. Given its weight of only 2.65 g, it is most likely minted during the period from the reign of Emperor Gaozong until the fall of the Tang Dynasty. Numismatists divide Kaiyuan Tongbao into three stages according to time:

The reverse side of this coin features a pitching crescent-shaped motif on the left side. In China, the crescent moon motif first appeared on coins during the Western Han period. Nevertheless, during the Tang Dynasty, the crescent moon motif acquired a mystical aura in folklore. It was believed that before the coin dies were submitted to the emperor for approval, the crescent moon imprint on them was left by a concubine’s fingernail. There were even variations of this tale, mentioning consorts such as Empress Wende, Empress Dowager Dou, and Consort Yang. Although this belief was debunked by Sima Guang during the Northern Song Dynasty, it continued to inspire literary works by later poets and writers.

According to the Old Book of Tang, the characters on the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin were written by Ouyang Xun, a renowned calligrapher of the early Tang Dynasty. He employed a style that blended clerical script and seal script, known as “bafen clerical script.” The resulting script was both elegant and vigorous, earning widespread admiration in subsequent generations. This led many rulers of later dynasties to use the calligraphy of the Kaiyuan Tongbao as a model for minting their own coinage.

Starting with the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the production of the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin extended throughout the entire Tang Dynasty. Its minting persisted into the subsequent Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and continued until the early Song Dynasty. Moreover, under the influence of the Tang cultural sphere, regions such as Central Asia produced imitations of the Kaiyuan Tongbao. This widespread replication resulted in numerous distinct variants, contributing to a highly complex array of forms.

物件編號: A839

年代: 公元 649-907 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.2 x 24.4 x 0.7 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

這是一枚自唐高祖武德4年(公元621年)起，取代漢代以來的「五銖錢」貨幣系統所發行的「開元通寶」。這是中國歷史上第一枚以「通寶」命名的錢幣，深切影響後續一千多年中國的錢幣發展。

這枚錢幣外觀仍沿襲方孔錢形制。錢幣正面按上、下、右、左的順序，依序鐫刻「開元通寶」四字。但是也有應該以順時針讀作「開通元寶」一說。

這枚錢幣正面的字體，具備中期型的特徵。結合其重量僅為2.65克，極可能是唐高宗以降至唐朝滅亡這段時間所鑄造。錢幣學家將開元通寶按照時間分為三個階段：

錢幣背面左側有一個仰月圖騰。中國最早在西漢時期就已出現新月圖案的錢幣。不過新月圖案在唐朝卻被賦予神秘的色彩，民間流傳是錢模送交皇帝批准前，某一位后妃所留下的指甲印，甚至還出現文德皇后、竇皇后和楊貴妃三種說法。這種說法雖然在北宋已經為司馬光考證為無稽之談，但後世仍有文人以此作為詩詞創作的靈感。

根據《舊唐書》的紀載，開元通寶的文字由唐初大書法家歐陽詢以結合隸書和篆書的「八分書」書寫而成，字體十分清麗遒美深受後世追捧，使得後續不同朝代的統治者時常以「開元通寶」書法為範本鑄造自身的貨幣。

自唐高宗起，開元通寶的鑄造縱貫整個唐代，後續的五代十國至宋朝初年仍有鑄造，乃至受到唐文化圈影響的中亞皆有仿鑄，使其擁有諸多不同的版型極為複雜。