Item number: A1252

Year: AD 1368-1398

Material: Bronze

Size: 39.92 x 39.44 mm

Weight: 14.97 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2016

This is a bronze coin minted by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, after he ascended the throne in AD 1368. The coin bears the inscription “Hongwu Tongbao,” corresponding to his reign title.

The coin follows the typical design of square-holed coins. On the obverse side, the four characters “Hongwu Tongbao” are inscribed in regular script in the order of top, bottom, right, and left.

The reverse side of the coin features the inscription “Peiping” at the upper edge, indicating its minting location. In the first year of the Hongwu reign (AD 1368) during the Ming Dynasty, Xu Da captured Yanjing, after which the city was renamed Beiping Prefecture. In the third year of the Hongwu reign (AD 1370), Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang conferred the title of Prince of Yan upon his fourth son, Zhu Di, making Beiping Zhu Di’s base of operations.

In the first year of the Jianwen reign (AD 1399), feeling threatened by Emperor Jianwen’s policy of reducing princely powers (commonly known as the Shefan policy), Zhu Di launched the “Jingnan Campaign” under the pretext of “rectifying the emperor’s court.” Leading an elite army, he captured the capital, Yingtian Prefecture (modern-day Nanjing), whereupon Emperor Jianwen disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Zhu Di subsequently ascended the throne as the new emperor, adopting the era name Yongle. Beiping Prefecture was subsequently elevated to the status of the capital, Beijing.

In the 19th year of the Yongle reign (AD 1421), Zhu Di officially relocated the imperial capital from Nanjing to Beijing, a decision that had profound and lasting implications for the trajectory of Chinese history.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a peasant and monk background, imposed numerous restrictions on merchants after establishing the Ming Dynasty. These measures were intended to prevent the exploitation of farmers and achieve the dual goals of state control over the population. To realise his ideal of a small-scale agrarian economy, Zhu Yuanzhang continued the coinage system he had used during his rebellion against the Mongols. He standardised the coinage into five denominations: “Small cash,” “two-fold cash,” “Three-fold cash,” “Five cash,” and “Ten cash.”

Zhu Yuanzhang’s coinage policy contradicted the principle that, with the growth of population and economic development, societal demand for currency would inevitably increase. Additionally, copper coins were impractical for large-scale long-distance trade. Despite Zhu Yuanzhang’s adoption of paper currency policies from the Yuan Dynasty and his further prohibition of copper coins in the 27th year of the Hongwu reign (AD 1394), these measures led to a social and economic crisis. It was not until AD 1408, during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang’s son, the Yongle Emperor, that the issuance of copper coins was resumed.

物件編號: A1252

年代: 公元 1368-1398 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 39.92 x 39.44 mm

重量: 14.97 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2016

這是開創明朝的朱元璋在公元1368年稱帝後，以其年號所鑄造的「洪武通寶」銅錢。

錢幣型制為典型的方孔錢。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左的順序，依序以楷書書法鐫刻漢字「洪武通寶」四字。

錢幣背面的上側，鐫刻鑄造地「北平」字樣。洪武元年(公元1368年)8月，徐達攻克燕京後改名為北平府。洪武3年(公元1370年)，朱元璋將四子朱棣冊封為燕王，此後北平成為朱棣根據地。建文元年(公元1399年)，有感於姪子建文帝推行的削藩政策產生威脅，朱棣以清君側為藉口發動「靖難之變」，率領精兵攻克首都應天府(南京)，建文帝失蹤而朱棣也成功登基為新皇帝，改年號為永樂，北平府亦升格為北京。永樂19年(公元1421年)，朱棣更將首都從南京遷移至北京，對於中國歷史的發展產生深遠影響。

農民和和尚背景出身的朱元璋，建國後對於商人設下諸多的限制，以避免其剝削農民和達到國家控制人民的雙重目的。朱元璋為實現其小農經濟的理想，沿襲其起義反抗蒙古人期間鑄造錢幣的規範，將錢幣簡單地劃分為「小平、折二、折三、當五和當十」五個等級。

朱元璋的設計違背隨著人口和經濟發展下，社會對於貨幣的需求將會日益擴大的道理。同時銅錢也不方便進行大規模的長距離貿易。即便朱元璋沿用元朝的紙鈔政策和洪武27年(公元1394年)進一步宣布禁止銅錢等措施，卻導致社會經濟的危機。直到公元1408年，朱元璋的兒子永樂帝在位才恢復銅錢的發行。