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1 Cash - Qianyuan Zhongbao, with dot
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 759-762 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Cast |
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| Obverse description | Central square perforation surrounded by a plain inner rim. Four Chinese characters in clerical script (lishu) arranged in cruciform disposition around the central hole, read top-to-bottom and right-to-left: 乾 (top), 元 (right), 重 (bottom), 寶 (left), together reading Qianyuan Zhongbao. The characters are boldly cast in raised relief against a flat field. A plain outer rim encircles the coin. |
|---|---|
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| Mint | Danzhou, modern-day Yichuan County, Shaanxi, China Ezhou, modern-day Wuhan, Hubei,China Fuzhou, Fujian, China Guangzhou, Guangdong, China Guiyang Inspectorate, modern-day Guiyang County, Hunan, China Guizhou, modern-day Guilin,Guangxi, China Hongzhou, modern-day Nanchang,Jiangxi, China Jingzhao, modern-day Xi'an,Shaanxi, China Jingzhou, Hubei, China Lantian, modern-day Lantian County, Shaanxi, China Liangzhou, modern-day Nanzheng District, Shaanxi, China Luozhou, modern-day Luoyang,Henan, China Pingzhou, modern-day Lulong County, Hebei, China Runzhou, modern-day Dantu District, Jiangsu, China Tanzhou, modern-day Changsha,Hunan, China Xiangzhou, modern-day Xianfeng County, Hubei, China Xingzhou, modern-day Lueyang County, Shaanxi, China Xuanzhou, modern-day Xuancheng,Anhui, China Yanzhou, modern-day Yanzhou District, Shandong, China Yizhou, modern-day Chengdu,Sichuan, China Yongzhou, modern-day Lingling District, Hunan, China Yuezhou, modern-day Shaoxing,Zhejiang, China Zizhou, modern-day Santai County, Sichuan, China |
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| Additional information |
The Qianyuan Zhongbao was introduced in 759 AD as the Tang court, under Emperor Suzong, scrambled to finance the suppression of the An Lushan Rebellion — one of the deadliest civil conflicts in human history, with population losses estimated in the tens of millions. Multiple denominations were issued simultaneously, creating immediate confusion and rampant devaluation. The "with dot" variety catalogued by Hartill as 14.119 is a minor positional variant, likely reflecting different casting workshops operating under the same emergency authorization rather than any deliberate policy distinction.