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1 Cash - Qianheng Zhongbao, lead
| Issuer | Southern Han Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 917-924 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Cast lead cash coin of standard round form with a central square perforation, surrounded by a raised square inner rim and an outer circular rim. The field bears four Chinese characters in regular script (kaishu), disposed in the traditional cross-reading order — top, bottom, right, left — reading 乾亨重寶 (Qianheng Zhongbao). The characters are bold and well-defined in relief against a flat, unadorned field, exhibiting the plain, functional aesthetic typical of Five Dynasties period cash coinage. No additional decorative elements, rims marks, or mint symbols are present in the field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
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| Additional information |
The Southern Han, one of the Ten Kingdoms that fractured China after the Tang collapse, was unusual among its contemporaries in minting lead cash as an official circulating medium rather than copper. The decision was largely practical: the Guangdong region controlled by the Southern Han held abundant lead deposits but limited copper, and the court under Liu Yan — who declared himself emperor in 917 — institutionalized lead coinage rather than admit a shortage. Contemporary sources record that merchants outside Southern Han territory refused these coins, making them effectively inconvertible beyond the kingdom's borders.