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5 Cash - Daguan Tongbao
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1107-1110 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central square hole surrounded by a plain raised inner rim, with four Chinese ideograms arranged in cruciform reading order — top, bottom, right, left — in the elegant Slender Gold (Shoujin) calligraphic style attributed to Emperor Huizong. The characters 大觀通寶 (Da Guan Tong Bao) occupy the four cardinal fields between the central aperture and the outer raised rim. The coin surface shows a patinated bronze field with no additional ornament or decorative elements. The outer rim is slightly raised and well-defined, framing the composition. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain, uniface reverse with a central square hole bordered by a raised inner rim, mirroring the obverse in construction. The broad flat field is entirely unadorned, with no inscriptions, symbols, or decorative elements. The outer rim is slightly raised and continuous around the circumference. |
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| Additional information |
Daguan Tongbao coinage was issued under Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song, a ruler better remembered for his extraordinary calligraphic and painting skills than for sound governance. The Daguan reign period lasted only four years, and the monetary policy of the court during this window was notably unstable — large-denomination cash pieces like this 5 cash issue were part of an inflationary strategy that eroded public confidence in bronze coinage generally.
Huizong himself is credited with designing the slender gold thread script used on Daguan issues, a style called Slender Gold Script, or shòujīntǐ, which he developed personally.