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1 Cash - Chongzhen Tongbao, southern type, with dot
| Issuer | Ministry of Revenue / Ministry of Public Works, Ming Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1630-1644 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Cast brass cash coin bearing the four-character reign title legend 崇禎通寶 (Chongzhen Tongbao) in kaishu (regular script), arranged in the traditional cross-reading order: top (崇), bottom (寶), right (禎), left (通). The characters are rendered in bold, well-formed strokes and surround a central square perforation. The coin is framed by an inner square rim and an outer circular rim, both clearly defined, with a plain, unadorned field between the characters and the rims. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is otherwise plain, featuring a central square perforation enclosed by a raised inner square rim and a raised outer circular rim. A small raised dot is present in the field above the square hole, serving as a mint or workshop mark identifying this as the southern type. The remainder of the field is smooth and uninscribed. |
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| Additional information |
The Chongzhen reign (1628–1644) was a fiscal catastrophe. The Ming treasury, gutted by decades of war with the Manchu, repeated flooding of the Yellow River, and the costs of suppressing domestic rebellions, could no longer maintain consistent coinage standards. Both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Public Works operated separate mints simultaneously, producing coins of wildly varying alloy composition and weight — a situation that bred immediate counterfeiting and public distrust.
The southern type with dot is a mint differentiation marker, distinguishing output from southern furnaces during the reign's final chaotic years. Chongzhen hanged himself on Coal Hill in Beijing as Manchu forces entered the capital in 1644, ending the dynasty mid-issue.