1 Cash - Chongzhen Tongbao, southern type, with dot

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.