The Dade reign of Emperor Chengzong saw fractional cash produced in quantities that remain poorly documented — Hartill's absence of a catalog number reflects genuine scholarly uncertainty about the full range of small-denomination issues from this period. Temple coins of this type were not state currency in the conventional sense; they circulated within Buddhist and Daoist institutional economies, used for offerings, merit-making transactions, and redistribution by clergy.
At under a gram, this piece was near the practical lower limit of cast bronze coinage.
The Dade reign of Emperor Chengzong saw fractional cash produced in quantities that remain poorly documented — Hartill's absence of a catalog number reflects genuine scholarly uncertainty about the full range of small-denomination issues from this period. Temple coins of this type were not state currency in the conventional sense; they circulated within Buddhist and Daoist institutional economies, used for offerings, merit-making transactions, and redistribution by clergy.
At under a gram, this piece was near the practical lower limit of cast bronze coinage.