Item number: A2081

Year: 136-118 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.4 x 23.7 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 2.0 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This coin is believed to be a “Four Zhu Ban Liang” type, likely first minted in the fifth year of the Jianyuan reign under Emperor Wu of the Western Han dynasty (136 BC), and circulated until the first year of the Yuanshou reign (118 BC).

The coin displays neither an outer rim nor an inner border on either the obverse or reverse. The inscription on the obverse reads “Ban Liang” in seal script, arranged from right to left. The character “Ban” is relatively short in height and slightly slanted to the left, while the character “Liang” leans subtly to the right. The strokes are thick at both ends and thinner in the middle, and the initial horizontal stroke of “Liang” begins thin and ends thick, terminating in a pronounced flaring tail, suggestive of Han-style clerical script. In some instances, the two simplified “Ren” radicals within the “Liang” character are reduced to a single horizontal stroke, a feature that has led to this variant being referred to as the “Cross-form Liang”. In other variants, they are represented as two downward-facing arcs or angular forms, a style known as “mountain-linked Liang”. Although the coin’s edges have been smoothed and trimmed, the surface remains uneven in thickness, raising the possibility that it may be a privately cast specimen.

The “Ban Liang” coin type continued the monetary system established during the Qin dynasty. During the Warring States period, the original Ban Liang coin weighed a true half liang, approximately 7.81 grams by modern measurement. However, by the end of the Qin dynasty, the weight had been reduced to eight zhu, or around 5.21 grams. At this point, the term “Ban Liang” no longer signified a specific face value or weight, but rather referred to the round coin with a square hole bearing that name. According to the “Treatise on Trade, Part II” in the Book of Han, “In the fifth year of Emperor Wen, as coins had become increasingly numerous and light, four-zhu coins were newly cast with the inscription ‘Ban Liang.’ The prohibition on private minting was lifted, and people were allowed to cast coins.” The phrase “coins had become increasingly numerous and light” refers to the early Han “Elm Seed Ban Liang” coins, also known as “pod coins”, which were light and thin, with oversized central holes. Though they also bore the inscription “Ban Liang”, their statutory weight was merely three zhu, which caused public dissatisfaction due to their lightness. Subsequently, Emperor Wen lifted the minting ban, allowing the populace to cast Ban Liang coins of standardised four-zhu weight under specific specifications. As a result, numerous variations of the Four Zhu Ban Liang coins emerged. Nevertheless, the actual weights of these coins, possibly due to effective institutional regulation and supervision, did not experience the phenomenon of bad coins driving out good ones. Excavated Four Zhu coins from the reign of Emperor Wen consistently exceed the statutory four zhu weight, approximately 2.6 grams today.

In the first year of the Jianyuan reign (140 BC), Emperor Wu initiated the minting of three-zhu coins. In the same year, the prohibition on private minting was reinstated: “All those who illicitly cast gold and bronze coins were to be executed; the number of officials and commoners violating the law was beyond count.” After several reversals in policy, a unified currency system was finally established under the Five Zhu coin.

Emperor Wu of Han, personal name Liu Che, was the seventh emperor of the Western Han dynasty, reigning from 141 to 87 BC. His fifty-four-year reign was marked by efforts to strengthen central authority and pursue territorial expansion. He implemented the “Order to Divide and Enfeoff” to weaken the power of regional princes, established the position of regional inspector to oversee local administration, and endorsed Confucianism as the state ideology. He carried out economic and monetary reforms, including the unification of coinage under the Five Zhu standard and the establishment of the equalisation and stabilisation system to regulate prices. Militarily, he launched multiple campaigns against the Xiongnu and opened routes to the Western Regions, facilitating the formation of the Silk Road. Culturally, he emphasised the divine legitimacy of imperial rule and conducted fengshan sacrifices to Heaven. Although the political situation in his later years was destabilised by the witchcraft persecutions, his reign laid the foundation for the political structure of the Han dynasty.

物件編號: A2081

年代: 公元前 136-118 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.4 x 23.7 x 0.6 mm

重量: 2.0 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

此錢應為「四銖半兩」，可能於西漢武帝建元五年(公元前136年)始鑄，鑄行至武帝元狩元年(公元前118年)。

錢幣正背面均無外輪內廓。正面錢文為「半兩」篆書，由右向左順讀。其中「半」字較矮，稍微左傾；「兩」字整體稍微右傾，筆劃兩端粗、中間細，首橫劃前細後粗，呈現明顯的磔尾，有漢隸味，「兩」字中二「人」旁簡筆為一橫劃，有稱「十字兩」者；或為二開口向下之圓弧或尖角，有稱「連山兩」者。錢幣邊緣雖經磨挫規整，錢面仍厚薄不均，疑為私鑄。

「半兩」錢乃因循秦制，戰國時原實重半兩(約合今7.81公克)之「半兩」，至秦末時已輕至八銖(約合今5.21公克)，惟「半兩」已不再指代面額或重量，而是方孔圓圜形制之錢名。《漢書·食貨志下》有載，「孝文五年，為錢益多而輕，乃更鑄四銖錢，其文為『半兩』。除盜鑄錢令，使民放鑄。」「為錢益多而輕」指漢初鑄行之榆莢半兩錢，或稱莢錢，體輕而薄，穿孔甚大，錢文雖亦為半兩，但法重為三銖，「民患其輕」。後文帝開錢禁，使民得(以一定形制)倣鑄法重四銖之半兩。也因此，四銖半兩版別差異頗多，不可勝數。惟其實重，可能由於制度、督察得宜，反未出現劣幣驅逐良幣之現象，出土之文帝四銖錢反而均重略超法重的四銖(約合今2.6公克)。建元元年(公元前140年)，武帝改鑄三銖錢，同年，復錢禁：「盜鑄諸金錢罪皆死，而吏民之犯者不可勝數。」幾次政策反覆後，終以五銖一統幣制。

漢武帝，名劉徹，是西漢第七位皇帝，於公元前141年至前87年在位。他在位五十四年，致力於加強中央集權與對外擴張，推行推恩令削弱諸侯，設置刺史監察地方，並獨尊儒術，使儒家成為官方意識形態。他實行經濟與幣制改革，如統一鑄行五銖錢，並設立均輸平準制度穩定物價。在軍事上，他多次對抗匈奴，開闢西域，促成絲綢之路的形成。文化上強調皇權神授，實行封禪祭天。雖然晚年政局因巫蠱之禍而動盪，但其統治奠定了漢代政治格局。