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1 Cash - Anonymous Kaiyuan Tongbao, Zi
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 841-907 |
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| 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 | Cast |
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| Obverse description | Cast bronze cash coin bearing the four-character legend 開元通寶 (Kaiyuan Tongbao) arranged in clerical script around a central square perforation, reading top-to-bottom and right-to-left in the traditional manner. The characters are boldly rendered in raised relief within a plain, unadorned field bounded by a narrow inner rim surrounding the square hole and an outer raised rim. The coin surface displays an uneven dark patina with areas of green verdigris consistent with prolonged burial, and the casting quality is typical of late Tang provincial production. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 開元通寶 (Translation: Kai Yuan Tong Bao - Inaugural currency) |
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| Additional information |
The Kaiyuan Tongbao was first issued in 621 under Tang Taizong and became the template for Chinese cash coinage for the next millennium — its weight standard, square hole, and round form were essentially legislated into permanence. The "Zi" variety, identified by the character 子 appearing below the square hole on the reverse, is attributed to one of several provincial mints operating during the dynasty's fragmented final decades, when central authority over coinage had effectively collapsed following the An Lushan Rebellion and subsequent warlord fragmentation.
Hartill 14.97 places this squarely in the late Tang provincial issues, 841–907.