Item number: A1605

Year: AD 9-14

Material: Bronze

Size: 15.2 x 15.0 x 1.7 mm

Weight: 1.45 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2014

This is a “Xiao Quan One Cash” (小泉直一) bronze coin issued by Wang Mang around AD 9, during his formal usurpation of the Han Dynasty and establishment of the Xin Dynasty. It was introduced as part of his second currency reform, aiming to replace the previously circulating Wu Zhu (五銖) coins in the market.

The coin follows the typical square-holed format. On the obverse side, the four characters “小泉直一” (Xiao Quan Zhi Yi) are inscribed in Hanging Needle Seal Script—a distinctive script style used during Wang Mang’s reign, characterised by thick upper strokes tapering into needle-like points. The inscription follows a top-bottom-right-left sequence. The reverse side is plain, with no inscriptions or designs.

According to Wang Mang’s vision for his second currency reform, the “Xiao Quan One Cash” was intended to serve as subsidiary currency, exchanged at a 50:1 ratio against the previously issued “Daquan Fifty” (大泉五十). Wang Mang’s “Two-tiered Coinage System” (泉貨兩品)—a combination of large-denomination and small-denomination coins—was the earliest known primary-subsidiary monetary system in Chinese history. This reform aimed to replace the Wu Zhu coins that had been in circulation during the Han Dynasty.

In AD 10, Wang Mang initiated a more complex third currency reform, which led to the loss of public confidence in the value of the “Xiao Quan One Cash.” As a result, in AD 14, he ordered the abolition of the Xiao Quan One Cash and replaced it with new currency. However, the frequent and chaotic nature of his four economic reforms caused widespread dissatisfaction among the populace, becoming the final straw that contributed to the collapse of Wang Mang’s rule.

Wang Mang, despite being a powerful figure and influential statesman at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, led a remarkably austere private life. He even commanded his son, who had committed crimes, to commit suicide as an act of contrition, earning him praise from scholars and the common people. Thus, in AD 8, amidst widespread calls from various sectors, Wang Mang peacefully usurped power through abdication, changing the dynastic title to Xin. Despite his failed economic policies, which led to his assassination by rebel forces in AD 23, over a thousand courtiers were willing to accompany him in death. Although official historical accounts of later periods often denounce Wang Mang as a “hypocrite,” during the Republican era, Hu Shih gave him the high praise of being the “first socialist in China.”

物件編號: A1605

年代: 公元 9-14 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 15.2 x 15.0 x 1.7 mm

重量: 1.45 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是一枚公元9年之際，正式篡漢建立新朝的王莽在他推行的第二次貨幣改革中，期待取代原先在市場上流通的五銖錢而發行的「小泉直一」。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢，錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左的順序，依序以王莽時期用於鑄幣的特色字體「懸針篆書」，即筆劃上粗下細，收尾細如針的書法字體，鐫刻「小泉直一」四字。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何文字或圖案。

按照王莽第二次貨幣改革的設想，「小泉直一」會作為輔幣，以五十比一的價格兌換前一次改革發行的「大泉五十」。王莽推動的「泉貨兩品」貨幣政策，即大面額和小面額貨幣的混搭使用，是中國歷史上最早的主輔幣制度，期待以此取代漢朝原先使用的五銖錢。

王莽在公元10年又推動更為複雜的第三次貨幣改革，使得民間對於小泉直一的價值喪失信心。因此在公元14年，王莽又下令廢除小泉直一以新貨幣取代，然而頻繁和混亂的四次經濟改革，使得民間對於王莽的統治怨聲載道，成為壓垮王莽統治的最後一根稻草。

王莽貴為西漢末年權傾一時的外戚和權臣，其私下生活卻極為簡樸，甚至責令犯法的兒子自殺謝罪得到文人和百姓的推崇。故公元8年在各界的呼聲下，王莽以不流血的禪讓取得政權，改國號為新。雖然失敗的經濟政策招使王莽於公元23年遭到亂軍殺害，卻有一千多名朝臣願意陪同他赴死。即便後世的官方史書多以「偽君子」評價王莽，但是民國時期的胡適卻給予他「中國第一位社會主義者」高度評價。