Catalog
See full images — free registration
Continue with Google — it's free
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 - Xianping Yuanbao, Tin imitation
| Issuer | Malay peninsula |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| 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) | Palembang#2 |
| Obverse description | Central square perforation surrounded by a raised rim on both inner and outer edges, characteristic of the Chinese cash coin tradition. Four Chinese seal-script or regular-script characters arranged in the four cardinal positions around the central square hole, reading clockwise: 咸 (top), 平 (right), 元 (bottom), 寶 (left), forming the legend 咸平元寶 (Xianping Yuanbao). The rendering of the characters is notably crude and irregular, consistent with a local Southeast Asian tin imitation rather than an official Song dynasty casting. The outer rim is slightly uneven and the fields between the legend and the rims are plain and unadorned. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Tin "cash" imitations circulated widely across Southeast Asian trading networks as a locally produced substitute for imported Chinese copper coins, which were in chronic short supply throughout the region. The Xianping reign (998–1003 AD, Emperor Zhenzong of Song) provided one of the more commonly imitated reverse types, likely because genuine Xianping cash arrived in sufficient quantity to establish the design as recognizable and trustworthy in local markets.
At 0.36 grams, this piece is a fraction of the weight of any genuine Song cash. Tin was the practical choice — abundantly mined on the peninsula — but it degrades faster than copper, which explains the rarity of survivors in any condition.