Item number: A1936

Year: AD 1368

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.8 x 22.8 x 1.2 mm

Weight: 3.45 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This is a Dazhong Tongbao coin minted in the first year of the Hongwu era (AD 1368), following Zhu Yuanzhang’s ascension to the throne and the establishment of the Ming dynasty. That year, Zhu dispatched two of his generals, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, to lead a northern campaign against the Mongol Yuan dynasty. In March of the same year, after successfully capturing Shandong, the coin was cast locally in the region.

The Dazhong Tongbao was first issued in AD 1361, following Zhu Yuanzhang’s seizure of Jinling (present-day Nanjing), which he established as his power base. At this stage, he had not yet proclaimed himself emperor but continued to consolidate his strength. The minting of the Dazhong Tongbao persisted until 1368 CE, when it was replaced by the Hongwu Tongbao.

The coin follows the typical square-holed format. On the obverse, the four Chinese characters Dazhong Tongbao (大中通寶) are inscribed in sequence following the traditional top-bottom-right-left order. On the reverse, the upper edge bears the character Ji (濟), an abbreviation for Jinan in Shandong, indicating the coin’s place of issuance.

物件編號: A1936

年代: 公元 1368 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.8 x 22.8 x 1.2 mm

重量: 3.45 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

這是一枚洪武元年 (公元1368年)，朱元璋稱帝建立大明之後，指派徐達和常遇春兩名大將北伐蒙元，於當年3月成功攻克山東之後，於山東當地鑄造的「大中通寶」。大中通寶最早見於公元1361年，即朱元璋攻佔金陵(南京) 以此為根據地，但是尚未稱帝累積實力之際，其持續鑄造直到公元1368年以洪武通寶取代為止。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢，錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左的順序，依序以漢字鐫刻「大中通寶」四字。錢幣背面的上緣則鐫刻山東濟南的簡稱「濟」，以此表示這枚錢幣的發行地點。