10 Cash - Tianqi Tongbao, Zhen, with Shi

The Tianqi reign (1621–1627) was administratively dominated by the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, whose grip on the imperial bureaucracy extended into mint operations. Large-denomination cash coins like this ten-cash piece were issued aggressively during this period as the Ming treasury strained under the costs of the Liaodong campaigns against the rising Jurchen forces. The resulting overproduction caused predictable debasement anxiety among merchants, who frequently discounted large cash against their face value.

The "Zhen" board marker combined with the "Shi" (ten) denomination indicator places this among the more precisely attributable varieties in the series — a small administrative detail that survived because mint accountability, however imperfect, was still nominally enforced.