1 Cash - Daoguang Tongbao, Boo-su

The Suzhou Board of Revenue Mint was one of the more erratic producers during the Daoguang reign, its output interrupted repeatedly by funding shortfalls and the broader fiscal strain that the Opium Wars placed on Qing treasury operations. By the 1840s, copper procurement had become sufficiently difficult that many provincial mints were quietly debasing their cash issues or suspending production entirely. Suzhou was no exception.

Hartill's range of five catalog numbers for this type reflects genuine die variation across the reign's nearly three decades — differences in calligraphic style and boo-su mint mark rendering that accumulated as successive engravers replaced worn dies without strict reference to a master.