Item number: A919

Year: AD 1017-1021

Material: Bronze

Size: 25.3 x 25.4 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 3.6 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This coin, inscribed with “Tianxi Tongbao,” was minted during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, the third emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty. It was produced during the period corresponding to his third era name, “Tianxi.” Throughout Emperor Zhenzong’s 24-year reign, he employed a total of five different era names.

The coin follows the typical square-holed design. On the obverse side, the four Chinese characters “Tianxi Tongbao” are inscribed in regular script in a clockwise order. The “Tianxi Tongbao” coins are categorised into two types based on the size of the characters: a big script version and a small script version. This particular coin belongs to the big script variant, where the radical “⻎” in the character “通” is written as a continuous stroke.

In the early years of Emperor Zhenzong’s reign, the Northern Song Dynasty faced persistent harassment from the neighbouring Liao Empire. This culminated in the signing of the “Treaty of Chanyuan,” in which the Song agreed to pay tribute in exchange for peace. This treaty set a precedent for the Song Dynasty, which later followed a similar strategy of securing peace with the Western Xia and the Jin Dynasty through the payment of annual tributes.

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: A919

年代: 公元 1017-1021 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 25.3 x 25.4 x 0.9 mm

重量: 3.6 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是北宋的第三位皇帝宋真宗在位期間，以其使用的第三個年號所鑄造的「天禧通寶」。宋真宗趙恆在位的24年間，先後使用過五個年號。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢。錢幣正面按順時針順序，依序以楷書鐫刻漢字「天禧通寶」四字。天禧通寶按字型大小的差異，分為大字和小字兩種版別。這枚錢幣是屬於「通」字部首「⻎」連寫起來的大字版。

宋真宗在位初年面對北方強鄰遼國的騷擾，最終跟遼國簽訂以金錢換取和平的「澶淵之盟」，開啟宋朝以歲幣先後跟西夏和金國換取和平的先例。

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。