10 Cash - Shengsong Yuanbao, Running script, iron

The Shengsong reign period lasted only six years under Emperor Huizong, who took the throne in 1100. Huizong is historically better remembered as a painter and calligrapher of the first rank than as a ruler — his court's neglect of military preparedness contributed directly to the Jurchen Jin invasion that ended the Northern Song in 1127. The running-script iron cash reflect a broader currency reality of the period: copper shortages in the northern circuits had forced Song authorities to authorize iron coinage on a large scale, particularly in Sichuan and the frontier regions.

Iron cash of this type circulated at severe exchange disadvantages against copper — typically ten iron cash to one copper — making the denomination designation somewhat nominal in practice.