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Tang Dynasty
Jianzhong Tongbao
唐
建中通寶
Item number: A1254
Year: AD 781-783
Material: Copper
Size: 21.13 x 21.06 mm
Weight: 2.65 g
Manufactured by: Kuche, Xinjiang
Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2016
This is a “Jianzhong Tongbao” coin minted during the Jianzhong period of the Tang Dynasty. The coin is round with a square hole in the centre. The obverse features the four characters “Jianzhong Tongbao” in clerical script, while the reverse is blank. The coin is thin and light, with rough craftsmanship, and it was predominantly found in the Kuche region of Xinjiang.
The uniqueness of the “Jianzhong Tongbao” lies in the fact that this currency is not actually recorded in Tang Dynasty historical documents, and it circulated almost exclusively in the area near Kuche, Xinjiang. This is because the coin was minted by the Tang soldiers stationed at the Anxi Protectorate in the Western Regions, whose base was located in the present-day Kuche area of Xinjiang.
The reason the local soldiers minted their own copper coins was due to the outbreak of the An Shi Rebellion. The Tang Dynasty had to mobilise elite troops from various regions to suppress the rebellion, which led to the Tibetan forces taking advantage of the situation to invade the Hexi region, cutting off the connection between the Western Regions and the interior. Subsequently, the Tibetans began to engage in battles with the Tang troops stationed in the Western Regions. Most military garrisons in the Western and Hexi regions, isolated and without reinforcements, were occupied by the Tibetans. Only the regions of Beiting and the Anxi Protectorate continued to hold their ground and were not captured. Since the Kuche area in Xinjiang was rich in copper resources, and without support from the interior, the Anxi Protectorate, in order to raise funds for military supplies to resist the Tibetans and demonstrate loyalty to the Tang Dynasty, utilised local copper resources to mint copper coins, naming the currency after the Tang Dynasty’s reign title at the time.
The initially minted coin was the “Dali Tongbao,” named after the era name “Dali” during the reign of Emperor Tang Daizong. However, when a messenger sent by the Anxi Protectorate finally managed to establish contact with the central Tang government in AD 781, it was discovered that Emperor Tang Daizong had passed away two years earlier. The current emperor was the crown prince Li Shi, also known as Emperor Tang Dezong, and the era name had already changed to “Jianzhong.” As a result, the Anxi Protectorate then minted the “Jianzhong Tongbao.” This explains why the “Jianzhong Tongbao” circulated only in the Kuche region of Xinjiang and why it was produced roughly. The “Jianzhong Tongbao” was a coin created by the local military garrisons in response to the loss of communication with the central government.