2 Cash - Zhenguan Baoqian, Tangut script

The Western Xia state, established by the Tangut people in the Ordos region and northwestern China, maintained a dual-script monetary policy throughout much of its existence — issuing coins in both Chinese and Tangut scripts, sometimes simultaneously. The Tangut script itself was a deliberate political creation, commissioned by Emperor Jingzong in 1036 to give the Tangut people a writing system distinct from Chinese, roughly sixty years before this coin was struck.

Zhenguan was the reign title of Emperor Chongzong, who came to the throne as a child under the regency of his mother, Empress Liang. The heavier 2 cash denomination saw irregular production under Western Xia and surviving examples in identifiable condition are considerably scarcer than the standard 1 cash issues from the same reign.