Item number: A585

Year: AD 1864-1875

Material: Lead

Size: 19.9 x 19.7 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 1.45 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This coin, identified as a “Tongzhi Tongbao,” was minted during the reign of the tenth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Tongzhi. Based on the appearance and colour of the coin, its material is likely lead.

This coin has the typical square-holed shape. The obverse features the characters “Tongzhi Tongbao” inscribed in the sequence from top, bottom, right, and left. On the reverse, the Manchu character “ᠪᠣᡠ” (寶) on the right side is still identifiable, but the Manchu inscription on the left, used to determine the minting location, has been eroded and cannot be discerned, making it difficult to establish the exact place of manufacture.

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: A585

年代: 公元 1864-1875 年

材質: 鉛

尺寸: 19.9 x 19.7 x 0.6 mm

重量: 1.45 g

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」，以錢幣色澤作為判斷，其材質應該為鉛。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢。錢幣正面按上、下、右、左順序，依序鐫刻漢字「同治通寶」四字。背面右側的滿文「ᠪᠣᡠ」(寶)尚能辨別，但左側用以判斷地點的滿文卻遭到磨蝕，無法辨別其確切鑄造地點。

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。