Item number: A610-1

Year: AD 1850-1861

Material: Brass

Size: 20.4 x 20.0 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 1.65 g

Manufactured by: Bao Quan Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a “Xianfeng Tongbao” coin minted during the Xianfeng period by the Bao Quan Bureau, which was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue in the capital. The coin follows the typical square-holed design and is made of brass, weighing only 1.65 g. This unusually light weight suggests that it may have been privately minted by civilians rather than being an official issue.

On the obverse, the four Chinese characters “Xianfeng Tongbao” are inscribed in the sequence of top, bottom, right, and left. On the reverse side, the Manchu script “ᠪᠣᡠ ᠴᡳᠣᠸᠠᠨ” (Bao Quan), indicating the Bao Quan Bureau, is inscribed on the left and right. However, due to the coin’s age, the inscription has been severely worn, making it difficult to recognise at first glance, especially the character “ᠪᠣᡠ” (Bao) on the left.

The Xianfeng period was one of the most chaotic times for Qing dynasty coinage, primarily due to the rapid spread of the Taiping Rebellion, which created an urgent need for military funding to suppress the uprising. In response, Emperor Xianfeng accelerated the production of currency by issuing coins with large denominations and reopening or establishing new mints that had been long inactive. As a result, the number of mints during the Xianfeng era reached 28, producing coins with denominations ranging from smaller values of four cash to as high as one thousand cash. This rapid expansion, however, also led to severe inflation within the empire.

物件編號: A610-1

年代: 公元 1850-1861 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 20.4 x 20.0 x 0.7 mm

重量: 1.65 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

這是一枚咸豐年間，京師負責財政的戶部下轄之寶泉局鑄造的「咸豐通寶」。錢幣為典型的方孔錢形制，材質為黃銅，其重量僅有1.65克，可能為民間私下所鑄造。

錢幣正面按上、下、右、左的順序，依序鐫刻漢字「咸豐通寶」四字。錢幣背面的左右兩側是標示鑄造單位的滿文「ᠪᠣᡠ ᠴᡳᠣᠸᠠᠨ」(寶泉)，由於時代久遠，銘文遭到嚴重磨蝕，使得第一眼難以辨識，尤其是左側的「ᠪᠣᡠ」(寶) 字。

咸豐年間為清朝錢幣最為混亂的時期，主要原因是太平天國之亂的迅速蔓延，使得朝廷亟需軍費以平定叛亂。咸豐為加快籌錢的速度，一面鑄造大面額的錢幣，一面增設或恢復停工已久的鑄錢局，使得咸豐時期的鑄錢局達到28間，面額從較小的四文到一千文不等，卻也導致國內面臨嚴重的通貨膨脹。