30 Cash - Wang Mang Second reform

Wang Mang's currency reforms are among the most aggressively interventionist monetary experiments in Chinese history. The second reform, launched in 9 AD upon the establishment of the Xin dynasty, introduced a bewildering array of denominations — at one point numbering twenty-eight distinct coin types — as Mang attempted to fund his administration while simultaneously dismantling the economic infrastructure of the displaced Han. The 30-cash valuation assigned to this piece bore essentially no relationship to its metal content, a gap that drove immediate counterfeiting and widespread non-compliance.

By 14 AD the entire system had collapsed into a simplified replacement, making the active emission window for this denomination under five years.