Item number: A2699

Year: AD 1736-1737

Material: Brass

Size: 25.0 x 25.0 x 0.8 mm

Weight: 3.2 g

Manufactured by: Bao Gui Bureau, Guilin

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2014

This is a coin cast by the Bao Gui Mint, under the jurisdiction of Guangxi Province during the Qing dynasty, likely produced between the first and second years of the Qianlong reign (AD 1736–1737), bearing the inscription “Qianlong Tongbao”. It is denominated as one wen and also referred to as a “xiaoping qian”, or small-denomination coin.

The coin follows the typical Han Chinese form of a round coin with a square central hole, but features a broad outer rim and a comparatively narrow inner border. The obverse bears the Chinese inscription “Qianlong Tongbao”, to be read from top to bottom and left to right, with the inscription connected through the central hole and extending toward the rim. In the character “tong”, the “マ” radical is not squared, and its initial horizontal stroke is relatively long; the “辶” radical begins with two elongated dots. In the character “bao”, the strokes are thicker and the overall form is elongated, with the final dot rendered as a horizontal line.

The Bao Gui Mint was first established in the seventh year of the Kangxi reign (AD 1668), with eight furnaces. Its operations were intermittent, occasionally expanded or suspended. The primary purpose of its establishment was to raise seigniorage revenue—profit from minting—to support military expenditures. Early coinage materials consisted mainly of old coins and copper vessels, later supplemented with copper from Guangdong and Yunnan mines. During the initial years of casting the “Qianlong Tongbao”, the mint followed Ming dynasty practises, using brass as the material, producing what was known as “yellow coins”. The alloy consisted of 60% red copper and 40% refined white lead, the latter being high-purity zinc ingots. After successive cycles of prohibition and reinstatement, early Qing mining policies gradually stabilised, following the principle of “mining at the borders while prohibiting the interior”. During the Yongzheng reign (AD 1723–1735), state-run mining facilities were established in Guangdong. By the eighth year of Qianlong’s reign, minting resumed at Bao Gui, with a revised alloy comprising 50% red copper, 41.5% white lead, 6.5% black lead, and 2% tin. The resulting coins appeared dark with a bluish hue and were termed “green coins”. This composition was intentionally brittle to deter the public from melting coins for profit through metalware production. The legal weight of each coin was set at 1.2 qian (approximately 4.5 grams), but the actual weight generally fell to about 1 qian (roughly 4.0 grams), and continued to decrease over time. From the first to the third year of the Jiaqing reign (AD 1796–1798), both “Jiaqing Tongbao” and “Qianlong Tongbao” coins were produced in equal quantities. Between the fourth and seventh years of Jiaqing (AD 1799–1802), the minting ratio shifted to 80% “Jiaqing Tongbao” and 20% “Qianlong Tongbao”.

The Qianlong Emperor, named Hongli, was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty. He ascended the throne in AD 1735 and reigned until AD 1796, making him the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history. During his rule, the Qing empire reached the peak of its territorial expansion and demonstrated substantial strength in politics, economy, and culture. He inherited and reinforced the centralised governance policies of his predecessors, the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors, governed diligently, upheld Confucian ideals, promoted education, and undertook several southern and western inspection tours to affirm imperial authority. Externally, he launched multiple military campaigns, pacifying the Dzungars, the Muslim regions, Jinchuan, Burma, and Annam, accomplishments collectively referred to as the “Ten Great Campaigns”. He also promoted cultural development, overseeing the compilation of the “Siku Quanshu” and expanding the imperial collection of books. However, in his later years, his administration grew lax, and his favouritism towards Heshen led to financial deterioration and official corruption, intensifying social tensions. In the sixtieth year of his reign, he passed the throne to the Jiaqing Emperor, assumed the title of “Retired Emperor”, and continued to exercise power for three more years until his death in AD 1799.

物件編號: A2699

年代: 公元 1736-1737 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 25.0 x 25.0 x 0.8 mm

重量: 3.2 g

製造地: 寶桂局，桂林府

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是一枚由清代廣西省下轄寶桂局，應於乾隆元年至乾隆二年(公元1736-1737年)所鑄之「乾隆通寶」。幣值一文，亦稱「小平錢」。

銅錢形制為中國漢地典型的方孔圓錢，但外輪寬闊，內廓較細。正面錢文為漢字「乾隆通寶」，由上至下、由左至右對讀，接穿連輪。「通」字之「マ」旁非方頭，首橫較長；「辶」旁首部為二長點；「寶」字筆劃較粗且字形較長，末筆之點為橫寫。

背面錢文為滿文「ᠪᠣᠣ ᡤᡠᡳ」，即「寶 桂」，為桂林的鑄錢局之意，全稱為桂林府局。

康熙七年(公元1668年)，始設寶桂局，建爐八座，此後時停時開，時增時減。設錢局主因是以鑄錢獲錢息(即鑄幣稅)，「以佐軍資」。錢材主要以舊錢或銅器皿為主，後以粵銅、滇銅礦為主。乾隆通寶始鑄的二年間，仍襲明朝傳統，為黃銅質，稱「黃錢」。其齊為紅銅六白鉛四，白鉛為較高純度的鋅錠。而清初礦政，在反覆開禁後逐漸穩定，大致以「開邊禁內」為原則。雍正年間(公元1723-1735年)，粵礦設廠開採，乾隆八年，寶桂局復鑄，其齊改為紅銅五十分，白鉛四十一分半，黑鉛六分半，錫二分，其色黯淡泛青，稱「青錢」，取其改鑄易碎，以免民眾熔銅鑄器以獲利。法重皆一錢二分(約合今4.5公克)，實重則多約一錢上下(約合今4.0公克)，與時推移，漸次愈輕。嘉慶元年至三年(公元1796-1798年)，鑄嘉慶通寶、乾隆通寶各半；嘉慶四年至七年(公元1799-1802年)，鑄嘉慶通寶八成，乾隆通寶二成。

乾隆帝，名弘曆，是清朝第六位皇帝，自公元1735年登基，在位至公元1796年，為中國歷代在位最久的皇帝之一。在其統治時期，清朝國勢達到鼎盛，疆域擴展至歷史高峰，並在政治、經濟、文化等方面展現強盛實力。他延續康熙、雍正時期的集權政策，親政勤勉，崇尚儒學，重視文教，並多次南巡與西巡以彰顯皇威。對外則推動軍事行動，先後平定準噶爾、回部、金川、緬甸及安南等地戰事，形成所謂「十全武功」。乾隆亦倡導文化建設，主導編纂《四庫全書》，擴充宮廷藏書。然其晚年政務轉趨鬆弛，寵信和珅，導致財政惡化與官場腐敗，社會矛盾日增。乾隆六十年傳位嘉慶帝，自稱太上皇，仍掌政三年，至公元1799年逝世。