10 Cash - Wang Mang Second reform

Wang Mang's currency reforms were among the most ambitious — and catastrophically received — monetary interventions in Chinese history. His second reform, introduced after the first had already failed to gain public acceptance, attempted to impose a complex multi-denomination bronze system on a population that had grown accustomed to the straightforward Ban Liang and Wu Zhu coinage of the Han dynasty. Merchants and commoners largely ignored the new denominations, hoarding or melting pieces rather than using them at face value.

The gap between the assigned value of 10 cash and the actual bronze content made this piece functionally worthless as a store of value — a contradiction the market recognized immediately.