Item number: A691

Year: AD 1742-1794

Material: Brass

Size: 24.3 x 24.2 x 1.1 mm

Weight: 4.5 g

Manufactured by: Bao Wu Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a “Qianlong Tongbao” coin issued during the reign of the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong (AD 1735–AD 1796), by the Bao Wu Bureau under the jurisdiction of Hubei Province. It has the characteristic appearance of a square-holed coin.

The outer rim, inner rim, and central square hole of the coin are clearly defined. Both the obverse and reverse sides show significant wear, yet the inscriptions remain legible: the inner rim on the obverse side is engraved with the four Chinese characters “乾隆通寶” (Qianlong Tongbao), while the reverse side features the Manchu inscription “ᠪᠣᠣ ᡠ” (Bao Wu).

In the 8th year of the Qianlong reign (AD 1741), an appeal was made to the imperial court requesting the resumption of coin minting. The official restoration took place in the 9th year of the Qianlong reign (AD 1742). During this period, the scale of coin production fluctuated due to profit considerations and was primarily influenced by the prices of raw materials and labour costs. Later, with a sharp decline in the production of copper from Yunnan, the government was forced to supplement the supply through purchases. However, private minting became widespread. As a result, in the 59th year of the Qianlong reign (AD 1794), the Qing court ceased coin minting in all provinces, including the Bao Wu Bureau.

物件編號: A691

年代: 公元 1742-1794 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 24.3 x 24.2 x 1.1 mm

重量: 4.5 g

製造地: 寶武局

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是清朝第六任皇帝乾隆在位期間(公元1735至1796年)，由湖北省轄的「寶武局」發行之「乾隆通寶」，其外觀為方孔錢。

錢幣的外廓、內廓和中央的方孔清晰。正反兩面文字磨損嚴重，不過仍可辨識：正面的內廓鐫刻漢字「乾隆通寶」四字，背面的內廓則鐫刻滿文「ᠪᠣᠣ ᡠ」（寶武）二字。

乾隆8年(公元1741年)上奏朝廷請求恢復鼓鑄，乾隆9年(公元1742年)正式恢復。期間因為獲利因素，鑄錢的規模會有所變化，並主要受到原料價格的影響以及工人費用。後來滇銅的產量銳減，不得以採買的方式補足，然而民間私鑄盛行。因此，乾隆59年(公元1794年)清廷停止各省鼓鑄，其中就包括寶武局。