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1 Cash - Anonymous Kaiyuan Tongbao, Lan
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 841-907 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Cash |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain field with a raised inner rim flanking the central square perforation and a raised outer rim. A single Chinese character 藍 (Lán), rendered in regular script (楷書), appears to the right of the central square hole, identifying the Lantian mint in Shaanxi province. The reverse is otherwise unadorned, consistent with Tang dynasty mint-mark convention. The coin shows natural patination with areas of green cuprite consistent with long burial. |
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| Reverse lettering | 藍 (Translation: Lan — referring to Lantian mint) |
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| Additional information |
The Kaiyuan Tongbao series, introduced in 621 under Tang Taizong, became so dominant that later emperors simply continued striking it anonymously rather than issuing coins under their own reign titles — a practice essentially without precedent in Chinese monetary history. The "Lan" variety, identified by a crescent-shaped mark on the reverse, belongs to a classificatory system still not fully resolved among scholars; whether these marks denote specific mints, furnace supervisors, or batch controls remains contested. Hartill places this type firmly in the late Tang period, when central authority was fracturing under warlord pressure and regional mints operated with increasing independence.