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1 Cash - Anonymous Kaiyuan Tongbao, Ping
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 841-907 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 開 寶 通 元 (Translation: Kai Yuan Tong Bao Inaugural currency) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
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| Additional information |
The Kaiyuan Tongbao was introduced in 621 under Tang Gaozong — not to commemorate an era, but to deliberately break from the ancient weight-based denomination system by naming a coin after a reign period for the first time. Production ran so long, across so many provincial mints, that later Tang issues like this one vary substantially in fabric and weight. The "Ping" designation here refers to a crescent mark on the reverse, used to identify individual furnaces or supervisory workshops within a mint — a quality-control convention rather than a mint mark in the Western sense.