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1 Qian - Zhizheng Zhibao
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1350-1368 |
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| Currency | Cash (621-1912) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Large cast bronze cash coin featuring a central square hole surrounded by a raised inner rim. Four large Chinese characters in regular script (kaishu) are arranged symmetrically in the four cardinal positions around the square hole, reading clockwise: 至 (Zhi), 正 (Zheng), 之 (Zhi), 寶 (Bao), forming the reign era inscription 'Zhizheng Zhibao'. The broad, flat fields between the inner and outer rims are plain and unadorned. The outer rim is raised and well-defined, consistent with Yuan dynasty casting conventions. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 至 寶 之 正 (Translation: Zhi Zheng Zhi Bao Zhizheng (4th era of Toghon Temür, 1341-1368) / The currency) |
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| Additional information |
The Zhizheng Zhibao series was issued during the terminal decades of the Yuan dynasty, as the Mongol administration struggled to suppress the Red Turban Rebellions that would ultimately bring the dynasty down. The government's response to fiscal crisis was to print paper money — the dynasty had long favored it — but by the 1350s hyperinflation had gutted public confidence in paper currency entirely. These bronze issues were part of a belated attempt to restore credibility to the monetary system, minted under the Zhizheng reign period of Toghon Temür, the last Yuan emperor.
At 50 mm across and over 26 grams, this is a substantial piece — deliberately so, since weight and size were meant to signal value in a period when confidence in currency had collapsed. Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming forces captured Dadu in 1368.