2 Cash - Tianqi Tongbao, with dot

The Tianqi Emperor's reign was administratively dominated by the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, whose faction controlled court finances and, by extension, the imperial mints. Cash production during this period was notoriously inconsistent — alloy quality fluctuated sharply depending on which foundry held current favor. The dot variety on this 2-cash piece is a positional marker distinguishing it from the standard issue, and Hartill documents it separately precisely because such variants were not accidental; dot placement served as a mint or batch identifier within a system that was already struggling to maintain output standards.