Item number: A1103

Year: AD 1864-1875

Material: Brass

Size: 24.7 x 24.9 x 1.2 mm

Weight: 4.75 g

Manufactured by: Bao Quan Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a Tongzhi Tongbao coin, minted during the reign of the tenth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Tongzhi, and made of brass. The coin follows the typical square-holed design, with a notably thick outer rim. On the obverse, the four Chinese characters “Tongzhi Tongbao” are inscribed in a sequence from top, bottom, right, left. The reverse features Manchu script on the left and right sides, reading “ᠪᠣᠣ ᠴᡳᠣᠸᠠᠨ” (Bao Quan), indicating that it was minted by the Bao Quan Bureau, the central agency responsible for overseeing the empire’s finances.

During the 13-year reign of Emperor Tongzhi, copper coinage production was relatively scarce, as silver had gradually become the primary medium of exchange in everyday transactions. This scarcity was further exacerbated by the ongoing internal strife caused by the Taiping Rebellion, which had not yet been quelled at the beginning of his reign.

It was only after the Qing army successfully recaptured the Taiping capital of Nanjing in the 3rd year of Tongzhi’s reign (AD 1864) that the minting of lower-denomination Tongzhi Tongbao coins commenced. Among these, the largest quantities were produced by the Bao Zhe Bureau in Zhejiang and the Bao Su Bureau in Jiangsu.

物件編號: A1103

年代: 公元 1864-1875 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 24.7 x 24.9 x 1.2 mm

重量: 4.75 g

製造地: 寶泉局

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是清朝第十位皇帝同治年間，鑄造之「同治通寶」，材質為黃銅。錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢，外廓十分厚實。錢幣正面按上、下、右、左順序，依序鐫刻漢字「同治通寶」四字。錢幣背面的左右兩側以滿文鐫刻鑄造單位「ᠪᠣᠣ ᠴᡳᠣᠸᠠᠨ」（寶泉）二字，代表是中央負責財政的寶泉局所鑄造。

同治在位期間僅有13年，由於彼時民間已逐漸採用白銀作為交易，故同治期間鑄造的銅錢數量較為稀少。尤其同治登基初年，清廷最大的內患太平天國尚未平定。故直到同治3年(公元1864年)，清軍功克太平天國首都南京後，方才開始鑄造小面額的同治通寶，以浙江「寶浙局」和江蘇「寶蘇局」數量為最。