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900 Cash - Wang Mang Third reform
| Issuer | China (ancient) |
|---|---|
| Year | 10-14 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 900 Cash |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Spade-shaped bronze coin with a circular hole at the top of the handle. Four archaic Chinese seal-script characters arranged in two columns occupy the central field, reading right to left as 布㳄 百九 (Ci Bu Jiu Bai), denoting the denomination of 900 cash. A vertical dividing line bisects the field from the handle hole to the foot. The flanged shoulders and splayed feet are characteristic of the lower-spade (ci bu) format introduced during Wang Mang's third monetary reform. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain reverse with a single raised vertical line running centrally from the handle hole to the foot of the spade, dividing the field into two equal halves. The surface is otherwise unadorned, displaying the natural patina of aged cast bronze. The flanged border and splayed foot terminals mirror the obverse outline. |
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| Additional information |
Wang Mang's monetary reforms were among the most ambitious — and catastrophically unpopular — currency experiments in Chinese history. His third reform in 10 AD introduced a bewildering array of new denominations designed to replace Han coinage, but the artificial valuations bore no relation to metal content, and the population largely refused to use them. Counterfeiting was so widespread that Wang Mang made currency fraud a capital offense, yet also decreed that anyone who informed on a counterfeiter would receive the counterfeit coins as reward — an almost self-defeating policy.
The 900-cash valuation on a coin of this weight tells the whole story of why the reform collapsed within years.