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10 Cash - Hongwu Tongbao, Fu
| Issuer | Ming Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1368-1393 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
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| Reverse description | Cast bronze reverse displaying two Chinese characters in regular script (楷書) flanking the central square hole: 十 (shí, meaning 'ten') positioned above the perforation and 福 (fú, abbreviated for Fujian) positioned below, denoting the denomination of ten cash and the Fujian provincial mint of issue. The field is otherwise plain, bounded by raised inner and outer rims consistent with the obverse. The casting is clean with well-defined strokes, and the patina is an even olive-brown consistent with aged bronze. |
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| Additional information |
The Hongwu Emperor's cash coinage was among the most administratively complex of any Chinese dynasty — denominations ran from 1 to 100 cash, each struck at provincial mints required to stamp their location and value on the reverse. The 福 (Fu) mint designation identifies Fujian province, one of the more active southern mints in the early Ming system. Hongwu eventually suspended copper cash entirely in 1393 in favor of paper currency, making the full denomination series a compressed production window of roughly two decades.