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2 Cash Liyong Tongbao
| Issuer | Great Zhou dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1674-1678 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 4.14 g |
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| Obverse description | Central square perforation surrounded by a raised square rim, with four large Chinese characters in regular script (kaishu) occupying the four quadrants of the field. The legend reads clockwise from top: 利 (Li), 通 (Tong), 用 (Yong), 寶 (Bao), to be read in the traditional top-bottom, right-left sequence as 利用通寶 (Liyong Tongbao), meaning 'Profitable Use / Universal Currency.' The characters are boldly cast in high relief against a flat, unadorned field. An outer raised rim borders the entire obverse. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain flat field with a central square perforation flanked by a raised square rim. Two Chinese characters in regular script appear to the left and right of the central hole, reading right to left as 二厘 (Er Li), denoting the coin's value of two li of silver. The remainder of the reverse field is blank, with a raised outer rim encircling the design. |
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| Additional information |
The Great Zhou was the short-lived dynasty proclaimed by Wu Sangui, the Ming general who famously opened the Shanhai Pass to Manchu forces in 1644 — a decision that ended the Ming and brought the Qing to power. Three decades later, Wu rebelled against the very dynasty he had enabled, raising the Revolt of the Three Feudatories in 1673. The Liyong Tongbao coinage funded that rebellion directly, struck in Wu Sangui's southwestern stronghold of Yunnan where he controlled the copper supply.
Wu died in 1678 before seeing his dynasty collapse, and Qing forces suppressed the revolt by 1681. The coinage spans only his active rebellion years.