Catalog
1 Cash - Tianxi Yuanbao
| Issuer | Western Liao dynasty (Central Asia) |
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| Year | 1178-1211 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central square perforation surrounded by a raised square rim, with four Chinese characters disposed one in each cardinal position around the central hole, reading clockwise: 天 (Tian), 喜 (Xi), 寶 (Bao), 元 (Yuan), forming the reign title legend TIANXI YUANBAO. The characters are rendered in regular script (kaishu) with bold, well-defined strokes in the traditional Chinese cash coin format. A raised circular rim borders the outer edge of the coin. The field between the characters and the rims is plain and unadorned. |
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| Mintage | ND (1178-1211) |
| Additional information |
The Western Liao — known in Islamic sources as the Qara Khitai — were Buddhists ruling a predominantly Muslim population across what is now Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang, yet they maintained a policy of remarkable religious tolerance that kept their realm stable for over a century. The Tianxi reign title belonged to the dynasty's last ruler, Kuchlug, who seized power around 1211 and promptly reversed that tolerance, triggering the popular resentment that made Mongol conquest under Jebe effectively frictionless by 1218.
Coins of this type circulated in a region with deep familiarity with Islamic dirhams and Chinese cast coinage simultaneously — an unusual monetary environment for any bronze cash issue.