Item number: A2630

Year: AD 1234-1236

Material: Iron

Size: 34.0 x 34.0 mm

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is an iron coin inscribed with “Duanping Yuanbao,” named after the third era name used by Emperor Lizong, the fifth emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty.

The coin follows the typical Chinese form of a square-holed cash coin and exhibits numerous patches of corrosion across its surface. On the obverse side, the inscription is arranged in the sequence of top, bottom, right, and left, bearing the Chinese characters “Duanping Yuanbao” (端平元寶) engraved in regular script. On the reverse side, a faint character “Five” (伍) is visible near the lower edge, indicating that the denomination of this coin is “Five-cash” (折五).

Duanping Yuanbao coins made of iron were primarily circulated in the Sichuan and Lianghuai regions. Following the fall of the Lianghuai region to the Mongols in the third year of the Duanping reign (AD 1236), Sichuan remained the only region under Southern Song control where the rugged terrain continued to serve as a natural barrier against Mongol incursions. As a result, the minting and circulation of iron coins in Sichuan remained relatively stable.

During the reign of Emperor Lizong of the Song Dynasty (AD 1224–1264), a total of eight era names were used. In the Duanping period (AD 1234–1236), Lizong formed an alliance with the Mongols, leading to the destruction of the Jin Dynasty, which had controlled northern China. However, Lizong, eager to reclaim the former Northern Song capital of Bianjing (Kaifeng), broke the agreement and launched an attack against the Mongol forces. This failed campaign ultimately led to an all-out war between the Mongols and the Southern Song.

After the Mongol conquest of the Southern Song and the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan’s Tibetan Buddhist confidant, Yang Lianzhenjia, desecrated Emperor Lizong’s tomb and crafted his skull into a ritual kapala bowl. It was only after Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and established the Ming Dynasty that Lizong’s remains were reburied with imperial honours.

物件編號: A2630

年代: 公元 1234-1236 年

材質: 鐵

尺寸: 34.0 x 34.0 mm

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚以南宋第五位皇帝，宋理宗使用的第三個年號作為命名的「端平元寶」鐵錢。

錢幣形制為中國典型的方孔錢，通體有許多的鏽斑。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左的順序，依序以楷書書法鐫刻漢字「端平元寶」。錢幣背面下緣有一個模糊的「伍」，代表這枚錢幣的面額為折五。

鐵錢材質的端平元寶主要流通於四川和兩淮地區。隨著兩淮地區於端平3年(公元1236年)遭到蒙古攻陷後，南宋控制的區域僅存憑著地勢天險阻擋蒙古人入侵的四川地區仍有穩定的鑄造和流通鐵錢。

宋理宗在位期間 (公元1224至1264年)，先後使用過八個年號。宋理宗於端平年間和蒙古結盟，雙方一舉消滅盤據在華北的金朝。然而急於收復北宋舊都汴京的宋理宗又毀約攻擊蒙軍，最終行動失敗也引發蒙古和南宋之間全面的戰爭。蒙古滅亡南宋建立元朝之後，忽必烈的藏傳佛教親信楊璉真珈還盜取宋理宗的陵寢，將其頭骨加工為法器嘎巴拉碗。直到朱元璋推翻元朝建立明朝後，才以皇帝的禮節將宋理宗的頭骨重新下葬。