Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Cash - Taiping Tongbao, with dot
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 976-989 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Hartill#16.21 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese (traditional, clerical script) |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain reverse field with a central square perforation surrounded by an inner raised rim and a plain outer rim. A single raised dot appears at a variable position in the field (above, below, or to the side of the central hole depending on the variety), serving as a mint or furnace mark to identify the issuing workshop. The overall surface is undecorated save for this distinguishing dot, which is the primary diagnostic feature for attributing this variety within the Taiping Tongbao series. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Taiping Tongbao was the inaugural coinage of Emperor Taizong of Song, issued from 976 following his controversial succession after the death — possibly murder — of his brother Taizu. The dot variety catalogued by Hartill as 16.21 is a minor but documented die characteristic, likely originating from a specific furnace workshop rather than any deliberate mint policy. Workshop-level variation of this kind is common across Northern Song cash production, where dozens of casting sites operated with minimal central oversight over individual die preparation.