2 Cash - Chunxi Yuanbao, Regular script, Shu Song, with crescent, iron

Chunxi Yuanbao iron cash were produced in Sichuan (historically Shu) by the Southern Song administration as a regional iron currency, entirely separate from the bronze coinage circulating elsewhere in the empire. Sichuan had maintained its own iron cash tradition since the Five Dynasties period, partly because copper was scarce in the region and partly because the sheer weight of iron coinage made it impractical to export — an effective natural barrier against currency drain.

The crescent privy mark distinguishes this piece within the Chunxi series, helping identify specific furnace outputs during a reign that produced enormous volumes across multiple mints.