Item number: A1279

Year: AD 1197-1200

Material: Silver

Size: 43.5 x 23.5 x 5.1 mm

Weight: 33.55 g

Provenance: Xiang Yun Antique 2008

This is a one-tael silver ingot first cast during the Jin (金) Dynasty. The physical appearance of the ingot is waisted with rounded ends, while the reverse and sides exhibit numerous blowholes resulting from the casting process. The surface of the ingot features proportional, inward-contracting ripple patterns; these occur naturally during the cooling of high-purity silver (at least 90% or above) due to rapid heat dissipation. Records indicate that the fineness of the Cheng’an Baohuo (承安寶貨) was 96% with an average weight of approximately 39.5g; this specific specimen is significantly lighter, suggesting it may be a product of private minting. The upper portion of the surface bears the two characters Cheng’an (承安) arranged horizontally, while the lower section features the inscriptions Baohuo Yiliang (寶貨壹兩) and Ku Gongbu (庫工部), followed by a signature mark.

The Shihuo Zhi (食貨志) in the Jin Shi (金史) records: In the twelfth month of the second year of the Cheng’an (承安) era, the Shangshu Sheng (尚書省) deliberated, noting that the salaries paid to officials and soldiers, as well as the military supplies for border defense, were currently provided through a combination of silver and paper currency. According to old regulations, silver was cast at fifty taels per ingot, valued at one hundred strings of cash. However, because members of the public sometimes fragmented these ingots, their value fluctuated. Consequently, the silver was recast under the name Cheng’an Baohuo (承安寶貨), divided into five denominations from one to ten taels, with each tael valued at two strings of cash. This represented the first instance of government-issued silver currency since the reign of Emperor Wu (漢武) of the Han (漢) Dynasty. However, due to the high official exchange rate (the market value was likely around 1,600 cash), illicit casting by the public was widespread, involving alloys of copper and tin, which eventually led merchants to suspend trade. The currency was ultimately abolished in the fifth year of the Cheng’an (承安) era (AD 1200), although the use of silver for private transactions among the populace had become an unstoppable trend.

Throughout Chinese history, copper-alloy coins with square holes served as the primary medium of exchange. Silver began to shift from a luxury item to a more widely accessible currency around the Southern Song and Jin dynasties. This trend reached its peak in the mid-Ming period, particularly following the Age of Exploration, which brought a significant influx of silver from the Americas into China. This influx prompted Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng during the reign of Emperor Wanli to adopt silver as the basis for tax payments. Prior to the introduction of machine-minted silver coins in the late Qing Dynasty, modelled after Western methods, silver circulated primarily in the form of ingots for both commerce and manufacturing.

物件編號: A1279

年代: 公元 1197-1200 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 43.5 x 23.5 x 5.1 mm

重量: 33.55 g

來源: 祥雲珍寶閣 2008

這是一枚金代始鑄的壹兩銀錠，銀錠的外觀呈現為束身圓頭，背面和側邊留有許多翻鑄留下的氣孔。銀錠表面則有成比例向內收縮的波紋紋飾，為高成色銀(至少90%以上)在冷卻過程中，因其快速散熱而自然呈現。有紀錄稱承安寶貨的成色為96%，均重則約為39.5克，此例明顯較輕，或許為民間私鑄。表面上方為「承安」兩字橫列，下方分別為「寶貨壹兩 庫工部」，以及末尾花押。

《金史・食貨志三》紀載：「承安二年『十二月，尚書省議，謂時所給官兵俸及邊戍軍需，皆以銀鈔相兼，舊例銀每鋌五十兩，其直百貫，民間或有截鑿之者，其價亦隨低昂，遂改鑄銀名『承安寶貨』一兩至十兩分五等，每兩折錢二貫」。此為漢武帝後首例，由政府發行的銀質貨幣。但因比價較高(市值可能在1,600錢左右)，民間盜鑄廣泛，雜以銅錫，以至於商人罷市。最終於承安五年(公元1200年)廢止，但民間用銀交易已勢不可擋。

中國歷史上各個朝代以銅合金的方孔錢作為主要流通貨幣，白銀作為一種跳脫奢侈品和成為市場較為普及的貨幣，大致是始於南宋和金朝之際，其高峰為明中葉地理大發現之後，來自美洲大陸的白銀大舉流入中國，使得明神宗年間的宰相張居正以白銀作為納稅的依據。而在清末師從西方機械鑄造的銀元以前，白銀在中國主要以銀錠的形制流通和製造。