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1 Cash - Huangsong Tongbao, Seal script, iron
| Issuer | Song Dynasty Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1039-1054 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 25 mm |
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| Obverse description | Four Chinese ideograms in seal script (zhuanshu) arranged in cruciform reading order — top, bottom, right, left — around a central square perforation: 皇宋通寶 (Huáng Sòng Tōng Bǎo, meaning 'Imperial Song Circulating Treasure'). The characters are enclosed between an inner square rim bordering the central hole and a raised outer rim. The field is plain and unadorned, consistent with Northern Song cast iron cash of the Renzong reign period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 皇宋通寶 (Translation: Huang Song Tong Bao — Imperial Song Circulating Treasure) |
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| Additional information |
Huangsong Tongbao was issued during the reign of Emperor Renzong, one of the longest-reigning Song emperors at over four decades on the throne. The Huangsong era name itself ran only from 1049 to 1054, though some iron cash of this type were struck slightly earlier under transitional mint arrangements. Iron coinage in the Song period was not a mark of economic failure but rather a deliberate regional policy — iron cash circulated primarily in frontier zones like Shaanxi and Sichuan, where copper was strategically restricted to prevent metal from crossing into Liao or Xi Xia territory.
Iron coins of this period corrode aggressively, and survivors with legible surfaces are genuinely scarce despite once-substantial mintages.