Item number: A559

Year: AD 1864-1875

Material: Brass

Size: 22.0 x 21.9 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 3.25 g

Manufactured by: Bao Zhe 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, made of brass. The coin follows the typical square-holed format and has an entirely black surface. The obverse features the characters “Tongzhi Tongbao” inscribed in regular script in a sequence from top, bottom, right, to left. The reverse side bears Manchu script on both sides, indicating the mint location as “ᠪᠣᠣ ᠵᡝ” (Bao Zhe), meaning it was minted in Zhejiang, Hangzhou.

Compared to another coin in the museum’s collection, the Manchu character “ᠵᡝ” (Zhe) on this coin has a smaller and more delicate font.

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.

The Bao Zhe Bureau was initially established in the 6th year of the Shunzhi reign (AD 1649) under the administration of the Zhejiang Provincial Government. It was originally named the “Zhejiang Provincial Bureau” but was later renamed during the Yongzheng period when minting factories were uniformly designated with the character “Bao” in their names.

During the Qing Dynasty, currency was issued by various regional mints, and measures such as adding or closing mints and reducing the number of furnaces were used to control the circulation of currency. Due to insufficient copper production in Zhejiang, the operations of the Bao Zhe Bureau were intermittent.

物件編號: A559

年代: 公元 1864-1875 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 22.0 x 21.9 x 1.0 mm

重量: 3.25 g

製造地: 寶浙局

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，通體為黑色。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 ᠵᡝ」（寶浙）二字，代表這枚錢幣於浙江杭州所鑄造。這枚錢幣背面的滿文「ᠵᡝ」(浙)，跟本館收藏的另一枚錢幣相比，其字型較為嬌小。

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。

「寶浙局」最早設立於順治6年(公元1649年)，由浙江省布政使司管理，最初命名為「浙江省局」，後於雍正時期，統一將鑄幣廠以「寶」字命名。清代貨幣由各地分散發行，並且以增局、撤局、減爐等方式，控制貨幣流通的數量。因浙江生產的銅料不足，導致寶浙局時開時停。