300 Cash - Wang Mang Third reform

Wang Mang's monetary reforms are among the most aggressively interventionist in ancient Chinese history. The Third Reform of 10 AD introduced a bewildering multi-denomination bronze system intended to replace Han coinage and reinforce the legitimacy of his Xin dynasty — a dynasty that would last only fifteen years before collapsing under peasant rebellion. The 300-cash valuation was wildly artificial; nothing in market practice supported such an exchange rate for a small bronze piece, and contemporary accounts describe widespread refusal to use the new currency.

Hartill 9.22 is among the scarcer denominations of the reform series. Hoards tend to yield the smaller spade and knife-money revival types in far greater numbers.