Item number: A594

Year: AD 1796-1820

Material: Brass

Size: 24.1 x 23.7 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 3.25 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

According to the collection records of D. L. F. Sealy, this rust-covered coin is a “Jiaqing Tongbao” minted during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. Despite the rust, the square-holed shape of the coin remains largely intact. The obverse side would originally have featured the Chinese inscription “Jiaqing Tongbao,” while the reverse side would have displayed the minting location in Manchu script. However, these details have been obscured and rendered illegible due to extensive rust damage.

After Jiaqing ascended to the throne following his father Qianlong’s abdication, he faced a massive financial crisis left behind by his predecessor. To address this, Jiaqing allowed the continued use of silver by the populace while simultaneously working to improve the quality of minted coins. As a result, the quality of “Jiaqing Tongbao” coins was notably superior and more standardised compared to the coins minted during the later years of Qianlong’s reign, with the weight officially set at 1 Mace 2 Candareens.

However, Jiaqing’s financial reforms were disrupted by frequent uprisings led by secret societies such as the White Lotus and Tianli sects. These disturbances undermined his efforts, leading to widespread private minting and even official adulteration of coinage, which in turn caused rampant inflation. In response, Jiaqing issued an edict permitting provinces lacking copper resources to suspend coin production. If they were to continue minting coins, the weight had to be strictly maintained at 1 Mace 2 Candareens. Consequently, many provinces ceased production, leading to a reduction in the circulation of copper coins and a subsequent stabilisation of prices.

物件編號: A594

年代: 公元 1796-1820 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 24.1 x 23.7 x 1.3 mm

重量: 3.25 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

根據大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利的收藏紀錄，這枚表面佈滿鏽斑的錢幣為清朝嘉慶年間鑄造的「嘉慶通寶」，方孔錢形制外觀尚屬完整。錢幣正面應當有漢字銘文「嘉慶通寶」，背面則是以滿文標示鑄造地點，然而這些細節已被鏽斑破壞，無法辨識。

嘉慶接受父親乾隆的禪讓登基為皇帝之後，面對父親留下的龐大財務危機，嘉慶一面聽任民眾使用白銀，另一方面整頓鑄幣的品質，使得嘉慶通寶的品質較乾隆末期的錢幣來得精美和規範，重量規定為一錢二分。然而嘉慶年間，國內頻繁出現白蓮教和天理教等祕密結社的叛亂，使得嘉慶的金融整頓努力只得半途而廢，各地又出現私鑄和官方偷工減料使得物價飛漲。這些因素迫使嘉慶上諭，缺乏銅礦的省份得以自行停鑄，若要繼續鑄幣則重量需要足一錢二分。因此各省紛紛停鑄，使得市面上的銅錢數量減少，方才使物價逐漸回穩。