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1 Cash - Tangguo Tongbao, Seal script
| Issuer | Southern Tang Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 959-961 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Cast bronze cash coin featuring four Chinese ideograms in seal script (zhuanshu), arranged in the traditional cross-reading order: top (唐), bottom (寶), right (通), left (國), reading top-to-bottom then right-to-left to form the legend 唐國通寶 (Tangguo Tongbao, meaning 'Tang Kingdom Universal Currency'). The characters are rendered in bold relief within the four quadrants defined by the central square perforation, with a plain raised rim encircling the coin. The field between the characters and the rim is flat and unadorned, consistent with Southern Tang casting practice of the mid-tenth century. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Southern Tang issued the Tangguo Tongbao in the final years of the reign of Li Yu, the last ruler of the dynasty, as the kingdom was being systematically dismantled by the Song. Li Yu — better remembered by history as a poet than a statesman — had already ceded the imperial title under Song pressure before these coins were struck, a political humiliation reflected in the very name: "Tangguo," meaning "Tang Kingdom" rather than "Tang Empire," a deliberate demotion in terminology. The dynasty fell to Song forces in 975.