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3 Cash - Zhiyuan Tongbao, 'Phags-pa script
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1285-1294 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Obverse description | Four 'Phags-pa script characters arranged in two vertical columns flanking the central square hole, read top to bottom and left to right. The legend reads 'Zhi Yuan Tong Bao' (至元通寶), meaning 'Universal Currency of the Zhiyuan Era,' referencing the second Zhiyuan reign of Kublai Khan (1264–1294). The bold, angular characters are deeply cast in high relief against a flat, unadorned field, characteristic of Yuan dynasty monetary production. The coin exhibits a broad, plain rim encircling the composition. The overall design reflects the unique bilingual monetary policy of the Mongol Yuan court, employing the imperial 'Phags-pa script commissioned by Kublai Khan. |
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| Reverse description | Uniface reverse featuring only the raised square central hole surrounded by a plain, flat field with no inscription, design, or decorative element. A broad, slightly raised rim frames the otherwise entirely blank surface. The casting quality is consistent with Yuan dynasty workshop production, showing a smooth patinated bronze surface with no intentional design features. |
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| Additional information |
The Zhiyuan Tongbao series was issued under Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty, and this three-cash denomination carries inscriptions in 'Phags-pa — the Tibetan-derived script commissioned by Kublai in 1269 specifically to serve as a unified writing system across his multilingual empire. The script was designed by the Tibetan monk Drogön Chögyal Phagpa at imperial command, but it never achieved widespread literacy among the population and fell out of administrative use within decades of Kublai's death.
Its appearance on bronze coinage is relatively brief, confined to the Zhiyuan period reign issues of the 1280s–90s.