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1 Cash - Daming Tongbao, Gong
| Issuer | Southern Ming regimes |
|---|---|
| Year | 1644-1646 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 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 | 大明通寶 (Translation: Da Ming Tong Bao — Great Ming [dynasty] Universal Currency) |
| Reverse description | Plain field with a central square perforation flanked by raised inner and outer rims. A single Chinese character in regular script (kaishu), 工 (Gōng), appears in raised relief above the square hole, denoting the Ministry of Works (Gongbu) as the issuing authority. The remainder of the reverse field is entirely blank. |
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| Additional information |
The Daming Tongbao series was cast by loyalist regimes scrambling to maintain imperial legitimacy after the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself on Coal Hill as Li Zicheng's forces entered Beijing in April 1644. The mint mark 工 (Gong, meaning "Ministry of Works") identifies this as a metropolitan issue, cast under the Hongguang regime at Nanjing — which survived less than a year before falling to Qing forces in 1645.
Production was chaotic. Multiple furnaces, inconsistent alloy sourcing, and the general disorder of a regime fighting for survival mean that no two examples are quite alike in fabric.