Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Sui Dynasty
Kaihuang Wu Zhu
隋
開皇五銖
Item number: A1077
Year: AD 581-600
Material: Bronze
Size: 22.9 x 23.0 x 1.1 mm
Weight: 2.75 g
Provenance:
1. Noonans 2022
2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection
This is a “Wu Zhu” coin minted during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, often referred to in historical records as the “Kaihuang Wu Zhu” or “Zhiyang Wu Zhu.” The coin follows the typical square-holed design, and compared to the various “Wu Zhu” coins minted during the Han Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty version features notably thicker and more pronounced outer rims on both the obverse and reverse sides.
On the obverse side of the coin, the characters “Wu Zhu” are inscribed in seal script on the right and left, respectively. Notably, the intersecting diagonal strokes of the character “Wu” are relatively straight, contrasting with earlier “Wu Zhu” coins from before the Sui Dynasty, where the diagonal strokes typically exhibit more curvature. The reverse side of the coin is plain, without any inscriptions or designs, and the entire coin has a greenish patina. The reverse also features athick, square inner rim at the center, which is a distinctive characteristic of Sui Dynasty “Wu Zhu” coins.
In AD 581, Yang Jian, originally a powerful minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, successfully usurped the throne, establishing the Sui Dynasty and setting the era name “Kaihuang.” After becoming emperor, Yang Jian sought to eliminate the inconsistencies in coin weights that had arisen during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, where various regimes issued coins of differing weights. He ordered the minting of new “Wu Zhu” coins to standardize the currency. However, despite these efforts, coins from previous dynasties continued to circulate among the populace, and the practice of private coin minting persisted.
The situation worsened in AD 604 when Yang Guang, Yang Jian’s successor known as Emperor Yang of Sui, ascended the throne. His extravagant ambitions led to extensive military campaigns and massive construction projects, resulting in the minting of large quantities of inferior-quality “Wu Zhu” coins. In AD 621, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, who founded the Tang Dynasty after overthrowing the Sui, ordered the minting of a new currency, the “Kaiyuan Tongbao,” thereby ending the long history of using “Wu Zhu” coins that had persisted since the Han Dynasty.