Item number: A743

Year: AD 1735-1796

Material: Brass

Size: 24.1 x 24.1 x 1.1 mm

Weight: 3.65 g

Manufactured by: Bao Nan Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022 

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a “Qianlong Tongbao” issued by the Bao Nan Bureau located in Hunan Province during the reign of the sixth Qing Emperor, Qianlong, from AD 1735 to AD 1796. The coin features a square hole and is characterised by its square-shaped design.

The outline, inner contour, and central square hole of the coin are distinctly clear. The inner contour on the obverse is inscribed with the Chinese characters “乾隆通寶” (Qianlong Tongbao), while the inner contour on the reverse is inscribed with the Manchu characters “ᠪᠣᠣ ᠨᠠᠨ” (Bao Nan). The inscriptions are significantly worn, with the Chinese character “隆” and the lower half of the Manchu character “ᠪᠣᠣ” being almost completely eroded.

Compared to the other four Bao Nan Bureau copper coins in Legends Museum’s collection, this specimen has the best proportion and presentation of Manchu characters and exhibits a superior aesthetic quality in its calligraphy.

The Bao Nan Bureau, also known as the Changsha Prefecture Bureau, was established in the 6th year of the Kangxi reign (AD 1667) and operated intermittently. By the 15th year of the Qianlong reign (AD 1750), with the stabilisation of copper mining in Hunan Province, the Bao Nan Bureau began to mint coins using locally sourced copper. The Qing government, by utilizing locally mined copper and lowering the purchase price, significantly increased the profitability of coin production, thereby amassing substantial amounts of minted silver.

物件編號: A743

年代: 公元 1735-1796 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 24.1 x 24.1 x 1.1 mm

重量: 3.65 g

製造地: 寶南局

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是清朝第六任皇帝乾隆在位期間(公元1735至1796年)，由位於湖南省的「寶南局」發行之「乾隆通寶」，其外觀為方孔錢。

錢幣的外廓、內廓和中央的方孔十分清晰。正面的內廓鐫刻漢字「乾隆通寶」四字，背面的內廓則鐫刻滿文「ᠪᠣᠣ ᠨᠠᠨ」（寶南）二字。文字則磨損嚴重，漢文的「隆」字與滿文「ᠪᠣᠣ」字的下半部幾乎已磨損殆盡。

相較於本館收藏另外四枚寶南局造的銅錢，本枚的滿文字體比例以及書寫呈現方式最佳，並呈現書法的美感。

寶南局又稱為長沙府局，開設於康熙6年（公元1667年），時開時停。乾隆15年（公元1750年）因湖南省銅礦開採逐漸穩定，寶南局使用湖南本地生產的銅礦鑄錢。清政府因使用當地開採的銅礦，並壓低收購的價格，大大的提升鑄錢的利潤獲得大量的鑄熄銀兩。