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5 Cash Liyong Tongbao
| Issuer | Great Zhou dynasty (Wu Sangui) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1674-1678 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Cast round coin with a central square hole flanked by four Chinese characters in regular script (kaishu), arranged in the traditional reading order: top, bottom, right, left around the perforation. The characters 利用通寶 (Li Yong Tong Bao) are boldly rendered in raised relief within a plain inner rim and a raised outer rim. The calligraphic style is characteristic of late seventeenth-century rebel-regime issues, with the character 通 (Tong) exhibiting a variant form with two dots. The flat fields show the typical surface texture of a cast bronze issue. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | 利用通寶 (Translation: Li Yong Tong Bao – Profitable Use / Universal Currency) |
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| Additional information |
Wu Sangui minted these coins after declaring himself emperor of the Great Zhou in 1678, having spent years as a Qing vassal before launching his rebellion in 1673 as part of the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. He died just months after proclaiming the new dynasty, leaving his grandson Wu Shifan to continue a losing war against Kangxi's forces until 1681. Coins struck under this regime circulated across Yunnan and parts of the southwest, the geographic limits of Wu Sangui's effective control.
The five-cash denomination reflects deliberate monetary ambition — a heavier issue projecting legitimacy for a dynasty that barely outlasted its founder.