Qing Dynasty

Xianfeng Chungbao

10 Cash

Bao Di Bureau

咸豐重寶

當十

寶迪局造

Item number: A1509

Year: AD 1855-1861

Material: Copper

Size: 26.8 x 26.3 x 1.6 mm

Weight: 5.8 g

Manufactured by: Bao Di Bureau

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2020

This is a coin minted in the 4th year of the Xianfeng reign (AD 1854) by the newly established Bao Di Bureau in Dihua, Xinjiang (modern-day Urumqi). To address the severe financial strain faced by the Qing Empire due to the Anglo-French forces and the Taiping Rebellion, the bureau followed the example of other provincial mints in central China by producing high-denomination Xianfeng Chungbao coins. This coin, with a face value of ten cash, is made of red copper.

The coin follows the typical Chinese square-holed design. Due to its age, the surface has suffered significant wear, though the inscriptions remain faintly discernible. On the obverse side, the four Chinese characters Xianfeng Chungbao (咸豐重寶) are engraved in the order of top, bottom, right, and left.

The reverse side, which exhibits more significant wear, features the denomination “當十” (worth ten cash) inscribed on the top and bottom. On the left and right sides, following Qing Dynasty coinage standards, the mint name abbreviation “ᠪᠣᠣ ᡩᡝᡳ” (Bao Di) is engraved in Manchu script.

Since the Qianlong reign, following the conquest of the Dzungars in Northern Xinjiang and the Khoja uprisings in Southern Xinjiang, the region was incorporated into the Qing Empire. Local mints were established to produce coinage for the area. Notably, the Qing Empire generally used the Tianshan Mountains as a dividing line. In Northern Xinjiang, where Mongols, Manchus, and Han Chinese immigrants were more populous, minting practises followed those of Central China, with brass serving as the primary material for coinage. In contrast, in Southern Xinjiang, where Uyghurs were the majority, local customs were respected, and red copper was used as the main material, giving rise to what was colloquially known as “red cash.” The Qing administration further stipulated that the issuance and circulation of these two types of coinage would be divided geographically, with Turpan (Tokson) serving as the boundary.

物件編號: A1509

年代: 公元 1855-1861 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 26.8 x 26.3 x 1.6 mm

重量: 5.8 g

製造地: 寶迪局

來源: 福君錢幣 2020

這是一枚咸豐4年 (公元1854年),剛剛在新疆迪化(今 烏魯木齊) 設立的鑄錢局「寶迪局」為應對清帝國面臨英法聯軍和太平天國造成的財政空虛,效法中原的各省分鑄造之大面額「咸豐重寶」,面額為十文,材質為紅銅。

錢幣形制為中國典型的方孔錢,由於時代久遠,表面已有嚴重的磨蝕,但尚能勉強辨認字跡。錢幣正面按上、下、右、左的順序,鐫刻「咸豐重寶」四個漢字。

磨損較為嚴重的背面,上下兩側以漢字標示面額「當十」,左右兩側則按照清朝的制錢規範,以滿文標示鑄錢局的簡稱「ᠪᠣᠣ ᡩᡝᡳ」(寶迪)。

自從乾隆年間征討北疆的準噶爾和南疆的大小和卓之後,新疆就此納入清帝國版圖並且在當地設立鑄錢局鑄造錢幣。值得注意的是,清帝國大抵以天山山脈作為分界,於蒙古人、滿州和漢人移民較多的北疆多半效仿中原,以黃銅作為主要的鑄幣原料。而在維吾爾人較為集中的南疆,則尊重當地人的習慣以紅銅作為鑄幣原料,俗稱紅錢。統治新疆的清廷還特別規定,兩種錢幣的發行和流通地點以托克遜為分界。

類似/相同物件 請看:

臺灣 國立歷史博物館 National Museum of History

https://collections.culture.tw/nmh_collectionsweb/collection.aspx?GID=MRMHMWM6MXM2

中國 國家博物館 National Museum of China

https://www.chnmuseum.cn/zp/zpml/201812/t20181218_23670.shtml

更多相關訊息請參考:

蔡養吾,《中國古錢講話附古錢餘話》(台北市:淑馨出版社,1999)

高英民,《中國古代錢幣》(北京市:學苑出版社,2007)

王永生,《新疆歷史貨幣: 東西方貨幣文化交融的歷史考察》(北京:中華書局,2007)

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