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1 Cash - Taiping Tongbao, Ming, with crescent
| Issuer | Small Sword Society |
|---|---|
| Year | 1854-1855 |
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| Composition | Brass |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain reverse displaying the central square perforation surrounded by raised inner and outer rims, with a single crescent mark positioned in the upper field above the perforation and the single Chinese character 明 (Ming) in regular script relief below the perforation, identifying the Ming dynasty affiliation claimed by the issuing Small Sword Society. The field is otherwise unadorned, with casting marks and surface granularity consistent with hand-cast rebel coinage of the mid-nineteenth century. |
| Reverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
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| Additional information |
The Small Sword Society — a Triad-affiliated secret society with roots in Fujian — seized control of Shanghai's walled Chinese city in September 1853 and held it for seventeen months before Qing and French forces retook it in February 1855. During that occupation they struck their own coinage, adapting the standard Qing cash format with deliberate ideological modifications. The crescent mark on this piece is one of several reverse varieties documented for this issue, likely serving as a die-control or mint-batch marker rather than carrying symbolic weight.
Hartill 23.31 is among the scarcer Small Sword varieties.