Item number: A557

Year: AD 1864-1875

Material: Brass

Size: 19.0 x 19.0 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 1.7 g

Manufactured by: Bao Su Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a “Tongzhi Tongbao” coin minted during the reign of the tenth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Tongzhi, made of brass. The coin follows the typical square-holed design and shows significant signs of wear and erosion on both sides.

On the obverse, the four Chinese characters “Tongzhi Tongbao” are inscribed in the sequence from top, bottom, right, and left, with the character on the left side barely legible due to wear.

On the reverse, the boundary between the outer and inner rims has nearly disappeared due to erosion. The inner rim bears two Manchu characters, “ᠪᠣᡠ ᠰᡠ” (Bao Su), indicating that this coin was minted in Suzhou, Jiangsu.

This coin weighs only 1.7 g, and compared to another coin in the museum’s collection, its inscriptions appear notably crude. For instance, the two characters “Tongzhi” on the obverse seem compressed and elongated, suggesting a lack of refinement. Therefore, it is highly likely that this coin was privately minted by civilians rather than officially produced by the government.

During the 13-year reign of Emperor Tongzhi, copper coinage production was relatively scarce, as silver had gradually become the primary medium of exchange in everyday transactions. This scarcity was further exacerbated by the ongoing internal strife caused by the Taiping Rebellion, which had not yet been quelled at the beginning of his reign.

It was only after the Qing army successfully recaptured the Taiping capital of Nanjing in the 3rd year of Tongzhi’s reign (AD 1864) that the minting of lower-denomination Tongzhi Tongbao coins commenced. Among these, the largest quantities were produced by the Bao Zhe Bureau in Zhejiang and the Bao Su Bureau in Jiangsu.

The “Bao Su Bureau” was established in the 7th year of the Kangxi reign (AD 1688) following an imperial edict after the creation of Jiangsu Province. It was overseen by Tong Pengnian, who was then serving as the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangsu. However, due to a shortage of copper in the region and the fact that transporting Tián copper (滇銅copper from Yunan) took three years round trip, minting at the Bao Su Bureau was intermittent. Coin production resumed in the 8th year of the Yongzheng reign (AD 1730). During the Qianlong, Jiaqing (江蘇), and Daoguang periods, the bureau’s operations were sporadic, halting completely when Tianjing (天京) fell during the Taiping Rebellion, after which minting resumed and continued until the end of the Guangxu era.

物件編號: A557

年代: 公元 1864-1875 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 19.0 x 19.0 x 0.7 mm

重量: 1.7 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

這是清朝第十位皇帝同治年間，鑄造之「同治通寶」，材質為黃銅。錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢。錢幣正面按上、下、右、左順序，依序鐫刻漢字「同治通寶」四字。錢幣背面的左右兩側以滿文鐫刻鑄造單位「ᠪᠣᡠ ᠰᡠ」(寶蘇)二字，代表這枚錢幣於江蘇蘇州所鑄造。

這枚錢幣重量僅有1.7克，且跟本館收藏的另一枚錢幣相比，該枚錢幣的銘文較為醜陋，像是正面的「同治」兩字看起來像是遭到壓縮較為扁長，故極有可能是民間私下所鑄造。

同治在位期間僅有13年，由於彼時民間已逐漸採用白銀作為交易，故同治期間鑄造的銅錢數量較為稀少。尤其同治登基初年，清廷最大的內患太平天國尚未平定。故直到同治3年(公元1864年)，清軍功克太平天國首都南京後，方才開始鑄造小面額的同治通寶，以浙江「寶浙局」和江蘇「寶蘇局」數量為最。

「寶蘇局」的建立是在康熙7年(公元1688年)奉詔建立江蘇省後，由當時任職江蘇布政史的佟彭年負責。然因該地少銅，滇銅運送往返需三年，寶蘇局造幣間間斷斷，直到雍正8年(公元1730年)恢復鑄造。後續乾隆、嘉慶、道光年間寶蘇局時開時停，直到太平天國導致天京淪陷後，才再次開啟直到光緒末年。