Item number: A1119

Year: AD 1850-1861

Material: Lead

Size: 18.1 x 18.3 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 2.65 g

Manufactured by: Bao Su Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a “Xianfeng Tongbao” coin minted during the Xianfeng era, produced by the Bao Su Bureau located in Jiangsu. The coin follows the typical square-holed design and is made of lead.

The obverse of the coin bears the four Chinese characters “Xianfeng Tongbao,” arranged in the order of top, bottom, right, and left. On the reverse, the sides feature the Manchu script “ᠪᠣᠣ ᠰᡠ” (Bao Su), representing the Bao Su Bureau in Jiangsu as the minting authority. Due to the passage of time, the coin’s surface has suffered significant erosion, making the inscriptions very difficult to discern.

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: A1119

年代: 公元 1850-1861 年

材質: 鉛

尺寸: 18.1 x 18.3 x 1.4 mm

重量: 2.65 g

製造地: 寶蘇局

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，位於江蘇的寶蘇局負責鑄造的「咸豐通寶」。錢幣為典型的方孔錢形制，材質為鉛，通體為灰色。

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鐫刻滿文「ᠪᠣᠣ ᠰᡠ」(寶蘇)，代表負責單位為江蘇的寶蘇局。由於年代久遠，錢幣表面磨蝕極為嚴重，使得銘文非常模糊。

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。