Item number: A1254

Year: AD 781-783

Material: Copper

Size: 21.13 x 21.06 mm

Weight: 2.65 g

Manufactured by: Kuche, Xinjiang

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2016

This is a “Jianzhong Tongbao” coin minted during the Jianzhong period of the Tang Dynasty. The coin is round with a square hole in the centre. The obverse features the four characters “Jianzhong Tongbao” in clerical script, while the reverse is blank. The coin is thin and light, with rough craftsmanship, and it was predominantly found in the Kuche region of Xinjiang.

The uniqueness of the “Jianzhong Tongbao” lies in the fact that this currency is not actually recorded in Tang Dynasty historical documents, and it circulated almost exclusively in the area near Kuche, Xinjiang. This is because the coin was minted by the Tang soldiers stationed at the Anxi Protectorate in the Western Regions, whose base was located in the present-day Kuche area of Xinjiang.

The reason the local soldiers minted their own copper coins was due to the outbreak of the An Shi Rebellion. The Tang Dynasty had to mobilise elite troops from various regions to suppress the rebellion, which led to the Tibetan forces taking advantage of the situation to invade the Hexi region, cutting off the connection between the Western Regions and the interior. Subsequently, the Tibetans began to engage in battles with the Tang troops stationed in the Western Regions. Most military garrisons in the Western and Hexi regions, isolated and without reinforcements, were occupied by the Tibetans. Only the regions of Beiting and the Anxi Protectorate continued to hold their ground and were not captured. Since the Kuche area in Xinjiang was rich in copper resources, and without support from the interior, the Anxi Protectorate, in order to raise funds for military supplies to resist the Tibetans and demonstrate loyalty to the Tang Dynasty, utilised local copper resources to mint copper coins, naming the currency after the Tang Dynasty’s reign title at the time.

The initially minted coin was the “Dali Tongbao,” named after the era name “Dali” during the reign of Emperor Tang Dezong. However, when a messenger sent by the Anxi Protectorate finally managed to establish contact with the central Tang government in AD 781, it was discovered that Emperor Tang Dezong had passed away two years earlier. The current emperor was the crown prince Li Shi, also known as Emperor Tang Dezong, and the era name had already changed to “Jianzhong.” As a result, the Anxi Protectorate then minted the “Jianzhong Tongbao.” This explains why the “Jianzhong Tongbao” circulated only in the Kuche region of Xinjiang and why it was produced roughly. The “Jianzhong Tongbao” was a coin created by the local military garrisons in response to the loss of communication with the central government.

物件編號: A1254

年代: 公元 781-783 年

材質: 銅

尺寸: 21.13 x 21.06 mm

重量: 2.65 g

製造地: 新疆庫車

來源: 大城郵幣社 2016

這是一枚唐朝建中年間所鑄的「建中通寶」，錢面為圓形、方形穿孔，錢幣正面有旋讀「建中通寶」隸書四字，背面無字，錢幣形體輕薄、做工粗糙，其出土地區集中於新疆庫車地區。

「建中通寶」的特殊之處在於此種貨幣實際上並不被唐代的文獻所記載，而且幾乎不在新疆庫車附近地區以外的區域流通，原因是這種貨幣是由唐朝留守於西域安西都護府的守軍自行鑄造的，安西都護府的駐地即是今日的新疆庫車地區。

至於為何當地守軍會自行鑄造銅錢，起因是唐朝因為安史之亂的爆發，抽調各地精銳部隊前去平定叛亂，導致吐蕃趁機進攻河西地區，切斷了西域和內地的聯繫。此後吐蕃便開始和留守於西域的唐朝守軍交戰，大多在西域、河西地區的軍鎮因為孤立無援而被吐蕃佔領，唯有北庭、安西都護府兩個區域持續堅守而未被攻陷。由於新疆庫車地區本就盛產銅礦，無法得到內地支援的安西都護府為了設法自行籌集軍餉對抗吐蕃，表達忠於大唐的決心，便運用當地的銅礦資源鑄造銅錢，並以當時的唐朝年號為貨幣命名。

最初鑄造的貨幣是「大曆通寶」，以唐代宗在位期間的年號「大曆」進行命名，然而當公元781年安西都護府所派的信使好不容易與唐朝中央政府取得聯繫時，這才發現此時唐代宗已經逝世兩年。如今的皇帝是太子李适，也就是唐德宗，年號已經改成「建中」了。於是安西都護府便又製造了「建中通寶」，這便是「建中通寶」只在新疆庫車附近地區流通，而且鑄造得較粗糙的原因，因為「建中通寶」是地方軍鎮為了因應與中央政府失去聯繫的特殊情況下所製造出來的貨幣。