Item number: A549

Year: AD 1820-1850

Material: Brass

Size: 16.5 x 16.4 x 0.5 mm

Weight: 1.1 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a “Daoguang Tongbao” coin minted during the Daoguang period using brass as the material. The coin features a typical square-holed design, with the Chinese characters “Daoguang Tongbao” inscribed in sequence from top, bottom, right, and left on the obverse side. The reverse side bears Manchu characters indicating the minting authority. The left side with “ᠪᠣᠣ” (Bao) is barely legible, but the right side, which should indicate the specific mint location, is so crudely engraved that it is unidentifiable. Additionally, the coin weighs only 1.1 g, indicating that it was likely a privately cast coin rather than an official minting.

Towards the end of the reign of Daoguang’s father, Emperor Jiaqing, the empire began to face the problem of silver outflow, which led to a continuous rise in the price of silver. This made it impossible to maintain the traditional exchange rate of 1,000 copper coins to one tael of silver. The purchasing power of copper coins declined, creating a dilemma for the government, as the more copper coins they minted, the greater the financial losses incurred. As a result, provinces in the southwest increasingly reduced the weight of their coins, forcing the imperial court to eventually resort to halting minting altogether. By the end of the Daoguang reign, only four mints—Bao Quan, Bao Yong, Bao Guang, and Bao Zhe—continued official production. In other provinces, minting was largely conducted by local officials in an unofficial capacity.

Daoguang was the seventh emperor of the Qing dynasty, known for an incident during his time as crown prince in which he personally shot and killed two assassins from the Tianli sect who had infiltrated the Forbidden City using a bird gun. Upon his accession to the throne, the most notable and historically significant event of his reign was the Opium War, which began in the 20th year of Daoguang’s reign (AD 1840) between the Qing Empire and Britain. The conflict arose over disputes regarding opium trade and free trade policies. Following the Qing defeat, the imperial court was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking, ceding Hong Kong Island to Britain. This marked the collapse of the traditional East Asian tributary system and the beginning of European-led modernization in the region.

物件編號: A549

年代: 公元 1820-1850 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 16.5 x 16.4 x 0.5 mm

重量: 1.1 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是道光年間以黃銅為材料鑄造的「道光通寶」。錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢，正面按上、下、右、左的順序，依序鐫刻漢字「道光通寶」四字。錢幣背面的左右兩側，以滿文標示鑄造單位，左側的「ᠪᠣᠣ」(寶)尚能勉強辨別，然而右側辨別確切地點的滿文卻極為簡陋，無法辨識。另外這枚錢幣重量僅有1.1克，明顯是民間私下鑄造的錢幣。

道光的父親嘉慶在位末期，帝國開始面對白銀外流的問題，使得銀價日漲，無法再維繫一千枚的銅錢兌換一兩白銀的兌率。銅錢的購買力下降，使得政府面對鑄造越多銅錢，則賠本就增加更多的困境。因此位於西南方的省份不斷減輕錢幣的重量，使得朝廷最終只得祭出停鑄一法。道光末年能繼續鑄造的錢局僅有寶泉、寶雲、寶廣和寶浙四個局處，其餘省份則屬於地方官員私下鑄造的舉措。

道光為清朝第七位皇帝，太子時期曾親手以鳥銃擊斃兩名闖入紫禁城的天理教刺客為知名。道光繼位之後，最為知名和影響深遠的事件為清帝國和英國之間，於道光20年(公元1840年)，為了鴉片和自由貿易爭議引起的鴉片戰爭。戰敗的清廷被迫簽訂《南京條約》割讓香港島，標示著東亞傳統朝貢秩序的崩潰和歐洲主導的現代化開端。