Item number: A2799

Year: AD 895-913

Material: Iron

Size: 49.0 x 48.3 x 4.3 mm

Weight: 41.45 g

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2020

This is an extremely rare iron coin, cast during the late Tang to early Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period by Liu Rengong and his son Liu Shouguang, who seized control of Youzhou amidst the political turmoil of the era and established their own regime. The coin bears the inscription ” Yongan One Thousand” (永安一千) and was minted with a face value of one thousand cash.

The coin follows the typical form of a square-holed cash coin, with its surface covered in orange corrosion spots. On the obverse, although worn, one can faintly discern the inscription “Yongan One Thousand” (永安一千), arranged in the traditional sequence of right, left, top, and bottom. The reverse side is plain, without any inscription or decorative motif.

The Liu father and son capitalised on the chaotic conditions of the late Tang period, establishing their rule over Youzhou (present-day Beijing) under the title of Military Governor of Lulong Circuit. In AD 911, Liu Shouguang, having usurped power from his father, proclaimed himself emperor, adopting Yan — the ancient name of Youzhou — as his dynastic title. Historical records note that during the Liu regime, copper coinage was extensively confiscated from the populace, forcing many commoners to resort to casting makeshift clay coins as a substitute. However, numismatic research has confirmed that the Liu rulers also produced official coinages, including rare issues such as the Yongan One Thousand (永安一千).

The Yongan series of coinage comprised four denominations: Ten (一十), One Hundred (一百), Five Hundred (五百), and One Thousand (一千). These coins were produced in both copper and iron. The copper issues, while exhibiting more refined and orderly calligraphy, are notably rarer than their iron counterparts.

In AD 913, Liu Rengong and his son Liu Shouguang were captured by Li Cunxu of Later Jin, who launched a military campaign under the pretext of suppressing a rebel regime. Since Liu Rengong had once served under Li Cunxu’s father, Li Keyong, the two were executed in the ancestral temple to honour Li Keyong’s memory. The Yan state regime established by the Liu family failed to gain recognition from other contemporary powers in the Central Plains. As a result, historical records often refer to their regime derogatorily as “Jie Yan” (桀燕),” likening it to a tyrannical and illegitimate state.

物件編號: A2799

年代: 公元 895-913 年

材質: 鐵

尺寸: 49.0 x 48.3 x 4.3 mm

重量: 41.45 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2020

這是一枚十分罕見，晚唐至五代十國初期之際，趁著混亂局面控制幽州建立政權的劉仁恭和劉守光父子，以鐵為原料鑄造的「永安一千」。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢，通體包裹著橘色的鏽斑。錢幣正面依稀能看到按照右、左、上、下順序，依序以漢字鐫刻「永安一千」四字。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何圖案或文字。

劉氏父子趁著晚唐的混亂局勢，以盧龍節度使身分盤據於北京一帶的幽州。公元911年，架空父親的劉守光以幽州的古名「燕」為國號自立為皇帝。史書記載劉氏父子統治期間大力收刮民間的銅錢，迫使百姓多半只能以泥巴鑄錢做為替代。不過經過錢幣學家的研究，劉氏父子尚有鑄造諸如永安一千等錢幣。

永安系列的錢幣有四種面額，分別是一十、一百、五百和一千。材質能分為銅和鐵兩種，銅質的書法較為工整但也較為罕見。

公元913年，劉氏父子遭到後晉的李存勗以討伐叛軍之名遭到生擒，由於劉仁恭本是李存勗父親李克用的部屬，李存勗在太廟斬殺兩人以告慰父親在天之靈。劉氏父子創建的燕國政權不獲得同時期中原其他勢力的認可，故在史籍上也有以「桀燕」作為稱呼。