1 Cash - Kai Da Chu Kingdom

The "Kai Da" cash issues belong to the chaotic interlude known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, when central Tang authority had completely collapsed and dozens of competing regional powers struck their own coinage — often in debased metals — simply to keep local economies functioning. Lead was not an ideological choice; it was a practical one driven by chronic copper shortages and the near-total breakdown of inter-regional metal supply chains.

Attributing these pieces to a specific issuing kingdom remains genuinely contested. Hartill's tentative placement within the minor southern kingdoms reflects documentary gaps rather than settled scholarship.