Item number: A1608

Year: AD 227-265

Material: Copper

Size: 24.5 x 24.3 x 0.8 mm

Weight: 2.75 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2014

This is a copper coin known as the “Cao Wei Wu Zhu,” minted from the first year of Taihe to the second year of Xianxi (AD 227–266) under the successive emperors of the Cao Wei regime following Emperor Ming.

The obverse of the coin bears the inscription “Wu Zhu” (五銖) in small seal script, read from right to left. The strokes of the character “Wu” (five五) extend to the outer rim of the coin, a feature referred to in numismatics as “Lianlun” (連輪, meaning “connected rim”). The character “Zhu” (銖) appears compressed against the outer rim, a feature known as “Yajin” (壓金, meaning “pressed into the metal”). Some scholars suggest that this “Yajin” characteristic is a defining feature of the Wu Zhu coins from the Cao Wei period. The strokes of the character “Zhu” are not fully connected, which may indicate either substandard minting techniques or that the coin was privately cast rather than officially minted. Additionally, the coin’s weight is slightly below the theoretical standard of 3.84 grams implied by the term “Wu Zhu.” Below the central hole, there is a row of four raised dots, referred to as “Four Stars Below the Hole” (穿下四星). The practise of marking coins with dots became common following the Yellow Turban Rebellion of the Eastern Han dynasty. During periods of central weakness, regional warlords fortified their positions and assembled private militias. When trade was necessary, they either privately minted currency or modified existing coins by adding extra strokes or star markings to alter their valuation or differentiate them within specific circulation groups. By the Six Dynasties period, dot markings had possibly become a stylistic feature of official minting.

The reverse of the coin is unadorned and devoid of inscriptions, though there is a circular mark below the central hole, likely for reasons as outlined above. Additionally, a transverse crack runs beneath the hole, which may be an imperfection resulting from deficiencies in the casting process.

The Book of Jin (Jin Shu晉書), in its Treatise on Food and Money (Shihuo Zhi食貨志), states: “When Cao Cao became Chancellor, he abolished it and reinstated the Wu Zhu coin.” This refers to Cao Cao’s decree, after assuming the position of Chancellor in AD 208, to ban the small, inscription-less coins issued by Dong Zhuo and to reinstate the standard Wu Zhu coin format used since the Han dynasty as the sole legal currency. However, no official Wu Zhu coins were minted at the time. It was not until the first year of Emperor Ming’s Taihe reign (AD 227) that official minting resumed, as indicated by the phrase “new Wu Zhu coins were minted” (geng zhu wu zhu qian 更鑄五銖錢). Based on excavated tombs, it appears that during the Cao Wei period, private coin minting was permitted alongside state-issued currency. After the Western Jin replaced the Wei in AD 266, no new official coins were minted throughout the Jin dynasty until the seventh year of Yuanjia (AD 430) under the Liu Song dynasty. Instead, Han and Wei-era copper coins continued to circulate. The allowance of private minting under the Cao Wei and Jin dynasties may have been a pragmatic response to the entrenched power of aristocratic clans, whose control over private minting was difficult to reclaim due to the significant profits involved. Alternatively, it may reflect the collapse of the monetary economy since the later Eastern Han period, which resulted in greater reliance on a barter-based economy.

物件編號: A1608

年代: 公元 227-265 年

材質: 銅

尺寸: 24.5 x 24.3 x 0.8 mm

重量: 2.75 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是一枚太和元年至咸熙二年(公元227至266年)，曹魏政權自明帝以降諸帝鑄造之「曹魏五銖」銅錢。

銅錢的正面錢文為由右向左順讀的小篆「五銖」二字，「五」字筆畫貼連錢幣外廓，於錢幣學中稱為「連輪」。「銖」字筆畫遭外廓侵壓，可稱「壓金」。當前有些學者認為，「壓金」是曹魏時期五銖錢的特徵。「銖」字的筆劃並不相連，這可能暗示了錢幣的製造工藝的限制或是非官鑄的性質，錢幣的重量也略低於「五銖」所表示的3.84公克之意。穿孔下方有一列四個突起，謂「穿下四星」。在錢幣上點星，是東漢黃巾亂後的常見特徵。中央勢弱之時，地方豪族築塢勒眾以保，當有貿易需求時，便私鑄貨幣，或於現有錢幣上加鑄筆劃或點星，以改變作價，或區別流通的集團。於六朝時期，點星成為官鑄錢可能的樣式之一。

銅錢的背面光背無文，但穿孔下有一圓圈記號，可能原因如上所述。另橫亙裂紋一道於穿孔下方，可能為壓鑄過程中的疏漏造成的瑕疵。

《晉書．食貨志》有載，「至魏武為相，於是罷之，還用五銖」。意為曹操登相後(公元208年)取締董卓所發行的無字小錢，規定漢以來五銖形制的銅錢才是合法貨幣，但應無官鑄五銖錢。直到漢明帝太和元年(公元227年)，「更鑄五銖錢」，即恢復官鑄。依據出土墓葬，曹魏時期可能同時開放民間私鑄，與官鑄銅錢並行不悖。西晉代魏(公元266年)後，直至劉宋元嘉七年(公元430年)，兩晉都未曾官鑄新錢，而是沿用漢魏銅錢。曹魏、兩晉不禁私鑄，可能是面對已坐大的世族豪強，難以回收可坐收厚利的鑄幣權，也可能是東漢歷朝以降，貨幣經濟的崩潰，造成實物經濟更受重視。