Item number: A1113

Year: AD 1205

Material: Iron

Size: 28.4 x 28.6 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 5.8 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is an iron coin minted during the Southern Song Dynasty under the reign of the fourth emperor, Emperor Ningzong. The coin bears the inscription “Kaixi Tongbao,” corresponding to the third era name used by Emperor Ningzong, Zhao Kuo, during his thirty-year reign. Throughout his reign, Emperor Ningzong adopted four era names: “Qingyuan,” “Jiatai,” “Kaixi,” and “Jiading.”

The coin is of the typical square-holed design. Due to its age, the surface has suffered damage and corrosion, but the inscription remains discernible. The obverse side of the coin is inscribed with the four Chinese characters “Kaixi Tongbao” in regular script, arranged sequentially in a clockwise direction. The reverse side of the coin features the year mark “Yuan,” indicating that it was minted in the 1st year of the Kaixi era (AD 1205).

In the 2nd year of the Kaixi era (AD 1206), under the direction of Chancellor Han Tuozhou, Emperor Ningzong of the Song Dynasty initiated an offensive against the Jin Dynasty. However, the campaign soon reached a stalemate. In the 3rd year of Kaixi (AD 1207), following Han Tuozhou’s assassination in a coup, the Southern Song and Jin Dynasties began peace negotiations. During this time, Emperor Ningzong changed the era name to “Jiading,” and the resulting treaty became known as the “Jiading Peace Accord.” The treaty maintained the existing borders but forced the Southern Song to increase its annual tribute payments to the Jin Dynasty.

Subsequently, in the 10th year of Jiading (AD 1217), another four-year conflict erupted between the two states, leading to significant inflation within the Southern Song and a massive increase in the minting of iron coins. Meanwhile, the Jin Dynasty, weakened by multiple wars, paved the way for the rise of the emerging Mongol forces in the north.

During the Song Dynasty, in addition to bronze coins, one notable feature was the widespread circulation of iron coins, a phenomenon rarely seen in other dynasties. This practise arose primarily for two reasons: first, the domestic shortage of copper resources; and second, the need to prevent copper coins from flowing into the hands of northern rival states, such as the Western Xia, Liao, and Jin. As a result, the Song court initially began minting iron coins, and later introduced early forms of paper money, such as Jiaozi and Huizi, as alternative currency.

物件編號: A1113

年代: 公元 1205 年

材質: 鐵

尺寸: 28.4 x 28.6 x 1.3 mm

重量: 5.8 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是一枚南宋的第四任皇帝宋寧宗，以其使用的第三個年號所鑄造的「開禧通寶」，材質為鐵。宋寧宗趙擴在位的三十年間，曾先後使用「慶元、嘉泰、開禧、 嘉定」四個年號。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢。由於年代久遠，錢幣的表面已有毀損和侵蝕，但尚能辨別其文字。錢幣正面按順時針的順序，依序以楷書書法鐫刻漢字「開禧通寶」四字。錢幣背面的上方「元」計年符號，代表這枚錢幣於開禧元年(公元1205年)鑄造。

宋寧宗在開禧2年(公元1206年)，宰相韓侂冑主持下主動發起對於金朝的戰爭，但是旋即陷入僵持的局面。開禧3年(公元1207年)，韓侂冑遭政變慘遭殺害後，南宋和金朝雙方展開談判，同一時間宋寧宗將年號改為「嘉定」，故此次議和史稱「嘉定和議」。條約中確定雙方的國界不變外，南宋也被迫增加每年給付金朝的歲幣。後續於嘉定10年(公元1217年)，雙方又再度爆發為時四年的戰爭，使得南宋國內面臨通貨膨脹大肆鑄造鐵錢。另一方面，金朝經歷數次的戰爭使得元氣大傷，也促成北方新興勢力蒙古的崛起。

兩宋時期的錢幣以青銅為材料外，其特色尚有大規模的鐵幣流通，為其他朝代少見的現象。之所以如此，一來是國內的銅礦資源缺乏；二來是防止銅錢流入競爭對手，諸如西夏、遼和金等北方政權，使得兩宋朝廷先是鑄造鐵錢，後來更出現紙幣雛形的「交子、會子」作為貨幣。