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Xin Dynasty
Huo Quan
新朝
貨泉
Item number: A1076
Year: AD 14-23
Material: Bronze
Size: 22.6 x 22.5 x 1.3 mm
Weight: 2.95 g
Provenance:
1. Noonans 2022
2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection
This is a “Huo Quan” auxiliary coin, issued in the first year of the Tianfeng era (AD 14) by Wang Mang, who usurped the Han dynasty and established the Xin dynasty. The coin was introduced as part of the fourth currency reform that Wang Mang implemented during his lifetime.
The coin is of the typical square-holed design and made of bronze. Its outer rim is exceptionally thin, giving the overall appearance a robust thickness. On the obverse side, from right to left, two characters “Huo Quan” (貨泉) are inscribed in a highly distinctive and artistic “Hanging Needle Seal Script,” characterised by strokes that are thicker at the top and taper to fine, needle-like points at the ends. The reverse side of the coin is blank, with no inscriptions or designs.
In Wang Mang’s fourth currency reform, the “Huo Bu” (貨布) was introduced as the primary currency, weighing twenty-five zhu, modelled after the ancient Warring States spade money. The “Huo Quan” (貨泉) was the auxiliary currency, weighing five zhu. This reform aimed to replace the systems from the previous three currency reforms but failed to meet Wang Mang’s expectations and contributed significantly to the downfall of the Xin Dynasty.
After Liu Xiu established the Eastern Han Dynasty, “Huo Quan” coins continued to circulate for some time because Liu Xiu believed that the characters “Huo Quan” (貨泉) symbolised his future as emperor.The characters were interpreted as “真人” (Zhen Ren) and “白水” (Bai Shui). Since Liu Xiu’s rebellion began in Bai Shui (Zao Yang, Hubei), he was also known as “白水真人” (Bai Shui Zhen Ren).
Wang Mang, despite being a powerful figure and influential statesman at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, led a remarkably austere private life. He even commanded his son, who had committed crimes, to commit suicide as an act of contrition, earning him praise from scholars and the common people. Thus, in AD 8, amidst widespread calls from various sectors, Wang Mang peacefully usurped power through abdication, changing the dynastic title to Xin. Despite his failed economic policies, which led to his assassination by rebel forces in AD 23, over a thousand courtiers were willing to accompany him in death. Although official historical accounts of later periods often denounce Wang Mang as a “hypocrite,” during the Republican era, Hu Shih gave him the high praise of being the “first socialist in China.”