Item number: A2740

Year: AD 1102-1106

The results after XRF testing

Material: Iron

Size: 26.7 x 26.8 x 2.1 mm

Weight: 5.4 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2020

This is the “Chongning Yuanbao” coin minted during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, using his second era name. Emperor Huizong ruled for 25 years and employed a total of six era names during his reign.

The term “Chongning,” meaning “to honour the way of Xining,” reflects Emperor Huizong’s intention to emulate his father, Emperor Shenzong, who had adopted the New Policy reforms led by Wang Anshi during the Xining era.

The coin features the typical square-holed design and is made of iron. On the obverse, the four characters “Chongning Yuanbao” are inscribed in regular script in a clockwise sequence. The reverse side is plain, without any text or design.

Iron Chongning Yuanbao coins are relatively rare, with most known specimens unearthed in the Sichuan region — an area where iron coinage was particularly prevalent during the transitional period between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties.

Emperor Huizong of Song, whose personal name was Zhao Ji. He had a profound interest in tea culture and calligraphy, and 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.

Despite Emperor Huizong’s exceptional artistic accomplishments, his reign was marked by flawed diplomatic policies. These missteps ultimately facilitated the rise of the emerging Jin Dynasty. Following the Jin’s conquest of the Liao Dynasty, they breached the northern Song capital in AD 1127, capturing Emperor Huizong, then acting as a retired emperor, along with his recently enthroned successor, Emperor Qinzong, and other members of the imperial family. This event, known as the Jingkang Incident, compelled the Song court to flee southward, marking a dark chapter in Chinese history.

During the Song Dynasty, in addition to bronze coins, one notable feature was the widespread circulation of iron coins, a phenomenon rarely seen in other dynasties. This practise arose primarily for two reasons: first, the domestic shortage of copper resources; and second, the need to prevent copper coins from flowing into the hands of northern rival states, such as the Western Xia, Liao, and Jin. As a result, the Song court initially began minting iron coins, and later introduced early forms of paper money, such as Jiaozi and Huizi, as alternative currency.

物件編號: A2740

年代: 公元 1102-1106 年

XRF分析結果:

材質: 鐵

尺寸: 26.7 x 26.8 x 2.1 mm

重量: 5.4 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2020

這是北宋第八任皇帝徽宗，以其使用的第二個年號鑄造的「崇寧元寶」。宋徽宗在位25年，先後使用六個年號。

「崇寧」意指「追崇熙寧之道」，表達徽宗意圖仿效父親神宗於熙寧年間採納王安石為首的新黨改革。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢，材質為鐵。錢幣正面按順時針順序，以楷書書法鐫刻「崇寧元寶」四字。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何文字或圖案。

鐵質的崇寧元寶較為罕見，其主要的出土地點為四川一帶，即兩宋之際鐵錢較為盛行的地域。

宋徽宗，本名趙佶，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。

即便徽宗擁有高超的藝術造詣，身為皇帝卻因錯誤的外交政策，導致新興崛起的金國在消滅遼國後，於公元1127年攻破北宋首都，擄去時任太上皇的徽宗和繼位不久的欽宗等皇室貴冑，使得宋室被迫南渡史稱「靖康之禍」。

兩宋時期的錢幣以青銅為材料外，其特色尚有大規模的鐵幣流通，為其他朝代少見的現象。之所以如此，一來是國內的銅礦資源缺乏；二來是防止銅錢流入競爭對手，諸如西夏、遼和金等北方政權，使得兩宋朝廷先是鑄造鐵錢，後來更出現紙幣雛形的「交子、會子」作為貨幣。