10 Cash - Hongwu Tongbao, Zhe

The Hongwu Tongbao series was issued under the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, who harbored a deep personal suspicion of paper money — understandable given that the collapsing Yuan dynasty had destroyed public confidence in it entirely. His solution was a tiered bronze coinage in denominations from 1 to 10 Cash, with the denomination and issuing mint marked directly on the reverse. The "Zhe" designation indicates production at the Zhejiang provincial mint, one of several regional facilities activated precisely because centralized minting at Nanjing alone could not meet demand across the newly unified empire.

Despite this ambition, Zhu Yuanzhang reversed course dramatically in 1393, suppressing the entire bronze coinage program and reverting to paper. Most of the heavier denominations saw limited circulation as a result.