Item number: A2107

Year: AD 1107-1110

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.8 x 23.7 x 1.5 mm

Weight: 3.6 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This is a coin minted during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, who was the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty. The coin was issued under his third era name, “Da Guan”. The meaning of “Da Guan” is tied to the emperor’s desire to “observe the great trends of the world”, reflecting his aspirations to understand and guide the broader political and social dynamics of the time.

The coin has the typical square-holed cash coin design and is made of bronze. On the obverse, the inscription “大觀通寶” (Da Guan Tongbao) is engraved in Slender Gold script, a unique calligraphy style created by Emperor Huizong himself. The characters are arranged in the sequence of top, bottom, right, and left, with the “觀” character featuring particularly prominent brush strokes. The reverse side is plain, without any inscriptions or designs.

Although the Da Guan Tongbao coin was only minted for four years during the reign of Emperor Huizong, it has left behind a rich variety of die types due to the changes in the era name.

Emperor Huizong of Song, whose personal name was Zhao Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Song Dynasty.

He had a profound interest in tea culture and calligraphy, and he authored a book titled “Treatise on Tea in the Daguan Era,” which describes the tea art of the Song Dynasty, including tea appreciation and tea competitions. This book is the only tea monograph written by a reigning emperor in history.

Emperor Huizong also created the “Slender Gold” style of calligraphy, which he applied to his writings. The Slender Gold style, based on regular script, is characterised by its strong strokes and is considered a precursor to the Song style script.

物件編號: A2107

年代: 公元 1107-1110 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.8 x 23.7 x 1.5 mm

重量: 3.6 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

這是北宋第八任皇帝宋徽宗，以自身的第三個年號「大觀」鑄造的錢幣。「大觀」的涵義為皇帝期許自己能「觀天下大勢」。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢，材質為青銅。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左的順序，以宋徽宗獨門自創的瘦金體鐫刻「大觀通寶」四字，其中「觀」字的勾勒筆劃特別明顯。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何文字或圖案。大觀通寶隨著年號更迭雖然僅鑄造四年，但是卻留下豐富的版型。

宋徽宗，本名趙佶，宋朝第八位皇帝，對茶學、書法頗有研究，他曾寫下一本《大觀茶論》，描述宋代人觀茶、品茶，甚至「鬥茶」等茶藝術。《大觀茶論》除了描述宋代飲茶的現象外，更是世上唯一一位由帝王撰寫的茶葉專著。

宋徽宗也自創「瘦金體」，並將之應用於書法上，瘦金體以楷書為本，筆畫剛勁是仿宋體的前身。