Item number: A870

Year: AD 1197

Material: Iron

Size: 29.6 x 29.8 x 1.5 mm

Weight: 5.05 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 “Qingyuan Tongbao,” corresponding to the first 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, with one side of the square hole showing signs of damage. On the obverse side, the four Chinese characters “Qingyuan Tongbao” are engraved in regular script, arranged in a clockwise direction, with the characters exhibiting a very elegant style. The reverse side features a year mark “Three” engraved at the bottom, indicating that the coin was minted in the 3rd year of the Qingyuan era (AD 1197).

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: A870

年代: 公元 1197 年

材質: 鐵

尺寸: 29.6 x 29.8 x 1.5 mm

重量: 5.05 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，以其使用的第一個年號所鑄造的「慶元通寶」，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，其中有一側的方孔出現破損。錢幣正面按順時針順序，依序以楷書書法鐫刻漢字「慶元通寶」四字，其字體非常清秀。錢幣背面的下方則鐫刻一個「三」記年符號，代表這枚錢幣為慶元三年(公元1197年)所鑄造。

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。