Item number: A1074

Year: 175-118 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 22.5 x 23.1 x 0.8 mm

Weight: 3.0 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This coin, known as the “Si Zhu Ban Liang,” was issued starting from the 5th year of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty (175 BC). It was introduced in response to the growing problem of currency depreciation caused by increasingly lightweight coins, which had led to inflation and economic instability. Despite retaining the name “Ban Liang,” this coin weighed four zhu, marking an effort to stabilise the economy by restoring a more substantial currency weight.

The coin follows the typical square-holed design. On the obverse side, the characters “Ban Liang” (半兩) are inscribed using a style that blends the small seal script with Han Dynasty clerical script influences. The characters are engraved on the right and left sides of the coin, respectively. Although parts of the characters are damaged, they remain discernible. The “Banliang” characters exist in various versions due to differences in script styles; on this coin, the “人” stroke inside the character “兩” is simplified to a single horizontal line. The reverse side of the coin is blank, with no inscriptions or designs.

In 221 BC, after Qin Shi Huang unified the six states and established the Qin Dynasty, he reformed the currency system by improving the previously circulated “Round Coins” (圜錢) of the State of Qin and introduced the “Ban Liang” (半兩) coin, which featured inscribed weight markings. This marked the establishment of the first unified currency in Chinese history.

However, when Liu Bang founded the Han Dynasty, the original Qin Ban Liang coins were deemed too heavy and unsuitable for the small-scale economy that emerged in the aftermath of prolonged warfare. As a result, Liu Bang issued progressively lighter versions of the Ban Liang, which eventually led to inflationary pressures. To address this issue, Emperor Wen of Han established a new standard coin weight of four zhu (四銖) and uniquely allowed the private minting of coins, a rare instance in Chinese history where the government endorsed private coinage.

The Si Zhu Ban Liang continued in circulation until it was replaced by the newly issued “Wu Zhu” (五銖) coins during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

物件編號: A1074

年代: 公元前 175-118 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 22.5 x 23.1 x 0.8 mm

重量: 3.0 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是一枚自西漢孝文帝5年(公元前175年)起，面臨國內流通的貨幣重量日益輕薄，造成通貨膨脹經濟問題之際，發行仍沿用「半兩」名稱但重量為四銖的「四銖半兩」。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢。錢幣正面以帶有漢代隸書風格的小篆書法，分別在右側和左側鐫刻「半兩」兩字。文字有部分的受損但尚能清楚辨別，「半兩」按字體差異有諸多版型，這一枚「兩」內部的「人」筆劃被省略為一條橫線。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何圖案或文字。

公元前221年，秦始皇統一六國建立秦朝後，改良原先秦國流通的「圜錢」，發行刻有記重文字的「半兩」，奠定中國歷史上第一種統一使用的貨幣。後續劉邦建立漢朝之際，由於原先的秦半兩重量過大，不符合經歷戰亂後的小規模經濟需求，故劉邦發行的半兩不斷減重，導致後續國家面對通貨膨脹問題。因此漢孝文帝繼位後，制定新的錢幣重量標準為四銖，更開放民間仿效自行鑄幣的權利，為中國歷史罕見由官方背書的民間鑄幣政策。四銖半兩持續使用到漢武帝登基後，方才被新發行的「五銖」淘汰。