Catalog
500 Cash - Wang Mang Third reform
| Issuer | China (ancient) |
|---|---|
| Year | 10-14 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Spade-shaped bronze coin with a raised circular hole at the top of the shoulder and a central vertical ridge dividing the face. Four archaic Chinese seal-script ideograms are arranged in two columns of two characters each, reading right to left: 布差 (right column) and 百五 (left column), together rendering the inscription 'Cha Bu Wu Bai' (Servant Spade / 500 [cash]). The characters are rendered in bold relief within a plain raised border that follows the spade outline. The lower portion of the spade features the characteristic bifurcated foot typical of Wang Mang spade coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 布差 百五 (Translation: Cha Bu Wu Bai Servant spade / 500 (value)) |
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| Additional information |
Wang Mang's monetary reforms were driven partly by ideology — he was attempting to revive Zhou dynasty economic customs as part of his broader effort to legitimize the Xin dynasty — and partly by a desire to extract value from the population through deliberate currency debasement. The Third Reform of 10 AD introduced a sprawling multi-denomination system of over two dozen coin types, nearly all of which failed to circulate as intended. Hoarding and counterfeiting were immediate and widespread.
The 500-cash valuation on a coin of this weight reflects the coercive fiction at the heart of Mang's system: the face value bore no relationship to metal content.