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1 Cash - Tianhan Yuanbao, with crescent
| Issuer | Former Shu Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 917 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 1.5 mm |
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| Obverse description | Cast bronze cash coin featuring a central square hole surrounded by a plain raised inner rim. The four Chinese characters of the reign title legend are arranged in clerical script (lishu) reading clockwise in the four cardinal positions around the central perforation: 天 (Tian) at top, 漢 (Han) at right, 元 (Yuan) at bottom, and 寶 (Bao) at left. The characters are bold and well-defined in high relief against a flat field. A raised outer rim borders the coin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain reverse with a central square hole enclosed by a raised inner rim and a broad, flat field. A raised crescent mark, oriented with the opening facing downward, appears in the upper field between the inner and outer rims. The outer rim is raised and well-defined. The overall surface displays typical cast texture consistent with Five Dynasties-period production. |
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| Additional information |
The Former Shu was a short-lived Ten Kingdoms state carved out of Sichuan by Wang Jian, a former Tang military governor who declared himself emperor in 907 as the Tang dynasty collapsed around him. The Tianhan reign period lasted only two years, 917–918, making this issue genuinely scarce by any chronological measure. The crescent mark — punched into the mold or applied to the die — likely denotes a specific furnace or casting workshop within the Chengdu mint operation, a common administrative practice in Sichuan coinage of this period that remains only partially documented.