1 Cash Kaiyuan Tongbao imitation, plain reverse, with round hole

The Kaiyuan Tongbao, introduced in Tang China in 621 AD, became the most widely imitated coin type across Central Asia for centuries. The Semirechye imitations — produced by Sogdian and Türgesh communities in the Ili River basin — were not crude forgeries but locally sanctioned currency filling a genuine commercial gap in a region where Tang supply chains never reliably reached. The plain reverse distinguishes these from the crescent and pellet varieties, which carry additional Sogdian tamgha marks identifying specific issuing lords or merchants.