Item number: A1120

Year: AD 1269

Material: Bronze

Size: 26.0 x 26.0 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 3.8 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This coin is a “Xianchun Yuanbao,” minted during the reign of Emperor Duzong of the Southern Song Dynasty. Its denomination is a one-cash coin, and it is characterised by its regular script inscription, though the characters have suffered significant damage.

This is a square-holed coin. The obverse side has a central square hole, with the four characters “Xianchun Yuanbao” inscribed in regular script, although the inscriptions show considerable wear. The reverse side also features a central square hole, with what appears to be the character “five” above it, indicating that it was minted in the fifth year of the Xianchun era. Additionally, the colour of the coin is uneven on both sides, and the overall surface is rough and irregular.

The Xianchun Yuanbao was minted during the Xianchun era (AD 1265–AD 1274) of Emperor Duzong’s reign and represents the last coinage of the Song Dynasty. These coins were made from copper and iron, with denominations primarily consisting of one-cash coins and two-cash coins. However, iron coins are extremely rare, and there is a possibility that they were privately minted.

In the final years of Emperor Duzong’s reign, as the Mongol forces advanced, the Southern Song government was forced to cease coin production. As a result, although there were three more emperors after Duzong—Gongdi, Duanzong, and Shaodi—there was no time to mint new coins. The coins bearing the reign titles of Deyou, Jingyan, and Xiangxing that are seen today are likely later forgeries.

According to the standard specifications for coins of the Song dynasty, a one-cash coin typically has a diameter of around 25 mm. Therefore, this Xianchun Yuanbao coin is likely a one-cash denomination.

物件編號: A1120

年代: 公元 1269 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 26.0 x 26.0 x 1.0 mm

重量: 3.8 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這枚錢幣是南宋度宗時期鑄造的「咸淳元寶」，面額為小平錢，其特色是幣面文字採楷書風格，字體受到不小損傷。

這是一枚方孔錢。錢幣的正面中央有一方孔，幣面刻有楷書「咸淳元寶」四字對讀，但字跡都有不小磨蝕痕跡。錢幣的反面中央也有一方孔，上方疑似鑄有「五」字，表示為咸淳五年鑄造。此外，錢幣正反面成色皆不均勻，幣面整體來看凹凸不平。

咸淳元寶鑄造於南宋度宗咸淳年間(公元1265-1274年)，是宋朝最後一種錢幣。材質有銅和鐵兩種，面額主要為小平錢和折二錢。然而鐵錢的數量極少，不排除為私鑄幣的可能。

度宗末年，在蒙古軍隊步步進逼下，南宋當局的鑄幣工作只得停擺。因此，儘管度宗後還有恭帝、端宗和少帝三位皇帝，可是已無暇鑄造新幣。今日市面上所見的德佑、景炎、祥興等年號錢，應該為後人偽造。

按兩宋錢幣形制來看，小平錢約在直徑25毫米左右，故這枚咸淳元寶應為小平錢。