Item number: A2705

Year: ND

Material: Brass

Size: 22.9 x 22.5 x 1.8 mm

Weight: 4.95 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This is a charm, somewhat roughly cast and possibly hand-engraved, likely a product of private minting. It follows the form of a round coin with a square hole, complete with an outer rim and inner border on both obverse and reverse sides.

The obverse bears the inscription “Chang Ming Fu Gui” (“Long Life and Wealth”) in regular script, read vertically from top to bottom, right to left. During the Qianlong reign (AD 1736–1796), the “Imperially Commissioned Record of Coins” already included a rotatable version of a charm inscribed “Chang Ming Fu Gui”. Inscriptions such as “Chang Ming Fu Gui”, “Chang Ming Bai Sui” (“May you live a hundred years”), and “Jin Yu Man Tang” (“May gold and jade fill your hall”, gold and jade imply descendants) were commonly used for life-cycle rituals and celebrations related to childbirth and early childhood. The “Fengsu Tong” by Ying Shao of the Eastern Han records that on the Double Fifth Festival, people would tie five-coloured silk threads on the arms of children as protective talismans—these were called “Chang Ming Lü” (“Threads of Long Life”). Wu Zimu of the Southern Song noted in “Dreams of Splendour of the Eastern Capital” that on the same festival, charms called “Hundred-Thread Coins” were bestowed. In the Ming dynasty, “The Plum in the Golden Vase” describes a custom of gifting charms threaded on five-colour strings to infants at their one-month celebration, reflecting prevailing practises. During the Qianlong period, the “Gazetteer of Tongzhou Subprefecture” by Xia Zhirong notes that at a child’s first birthday, the maternal family would offer charms among other gifts. Similarly, the “Gazetteer of Hangzhou Prefecture” from AD 1922 records that during a traditional “baby-washing ceremony” at one month, the maternal family would give gold and silver charms or scatter coins in a basin to celebrate the child’s health. What began as a Double Fifth custom developed into a general practise for infant blessings and, by the Qing dynasty, evolved into the tradition of the “Chang Ming Lock”—an amulet worn on the chest to ward off misfortune and illness.

The reverse bears the inscription “Tian Xia Tai Ping” (“Peace under Heaven”) in regular script, also read vertically from top to bottom, right to left. Charms with this inscription became widely popular after the Jiaqing reign, produced both officially and privately. Officially minted examples include “inaugural furnace coins” or “palace coins”. Inaugural furnace coins were cast to mark the establishment or reopening of mints, or during festive periods, serving both as technical test pieces and auspicious symbols. Palace coins were used for imperial gifts. In the Qing dynasty, they were also placed in treasuries, on beams, or within buildings as protective talismans. Bao Kang’s “Catalogue of Large Coins” documents that in the Hall of Ancestors, such coins were affixed to the four corners of ritual cloths and were replaced with newly cast coins upon each emperor’s accession. His listings of “Guangxu Tong Bao” and “Xuantong Tong Bao” with “Tian Xia Tai Ping” on the reverse are examples of this type. During modern restorations of the Beijing Palace Museum, such charms were frequently discovered in “Hall-Suppressing Treasure Boxes” concealed in roof beams. For instance, a box in the Hall of Mental Cultivation contained 24 gold coins with the inscription “Tian Xia Tai Ping”. In popular culture, it was customary to craft “money trees” for annual blessings. Hanging charms on trees as offerings, or burying coin trees as funerary objects, were traditions dating back to the late Han dynasty. In “Record of Seasonal Customs in the Capital” by Fucha Dunchong (AD 1900), he notes that Beijingers would place large pine or cypress branches in vases, decorated with ancient coins, sycees, and pomegranate blossoms—known as “money trees”. Woodblock New Year prints from Qing-era Yangliuqing often depict such trees adorned with strings of charms, bearing inscriptions like “Tian Xia Tai Ping”, “Wugu Fengdeng” (“Bountiful Harvest”), “Jin Yu Man Tang”, and “Chang Ming Fu Gui”.

Charms, also referred to as “charm coins” or “auspicious coins”, were copper-alloy cast items not intended for circulation, commonly produced during the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods. While they mimic the round shape and square hole of traditional coinage, their inscriptions feature auspicious phrases, historical figures, religious motifs, or folk tales. These charms conveyed blessings, protection, and celebration, and were mainly crafted by common people. Their stylistic diversity and varying levels of craftsmanship make them important material expressions of traditional culture and belief. Some scholars thus propose a collective term: “folk charms”.

Inaugural furnace coins are a specific type of charm, typically cast upon the opening or recommencement of a mint. They served dual commemorative and auspicious purposes and often bore inscriptions such as “Inaugural Furnace”, “Trial Casting”, or “Auspiciousness”, symbolising smooth operations and prosperity. These coins were also used in rituals honouring the furnace deity or distributed to officials and artisans involved in minting. Because of their rarity, distinctive design, and ceremonial context, inaugural furnace coins are important artefacts for studying coinage technology and the official minting system.

物件編號: A2705

年代: 待考

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 22.9 x 22.5 x 1.8 mm

重量: 4.95 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

這是一枚花錢，鑄工稍粗，或為手刻，應屬私鑄。形制為方孔圓錢，正背面外輪內廓俱全。

花錢的正面錢文為「長命富貴」楷書，由上至下、由右至左直讀。乾隆年間《欽定錢錄》已有收錄一枚旋讀之「長命富貴」花錢。錢文「長命富貴」、「長命百歲」、「金玉滿堂」等，多用於生育、幼兒相關的人生禮儀及節慶祝願。東漢應劭《風俗通》已載，於重五以五彩絲繫臂以辟邪者，一名長命縷。南宋吳自牧《夢梁錄》亦載重五時，賜「百索彩錢」。明代《金瓶梅》有小兒滿月時贈「一柳五色線，上穿著十數文長命錢」的情節，當為明代風俗。乾隆年間(公元1736-1796年)，夏之蓉《通州直隸州志》載生子滿歲時，外家以彩錢等送其家。民國十一年(公元1922年)《杭州府志》亦載，滿月時，循古禮開「洗兒會」，以賀孩童健康，外家贈金銀彩錢，或撒錢於盆中。長命錢除自端午習俗發展為幼兒禮俗外，後大約於清代更衍生為「長命鎖」文化，於胸前配戴以消災辟邪。

花錢的背面錢文為「天下太平」楷書，由上至下、由右至左直讀。「天下太平」之醒世花錢，於嘉慶後相當流行，官民皆鑄。官鑄多為開爐錢或宮錢，開爐錢為錢局爐座新開、復鑄或年節之時所試鑄，一方面為技術測試，一方面則取吉利之兆。宮錢則為宮中賞賜之用，清代宮錢更有鎮庫、鎮殿及藏於樑上以驅邪厭勝之成例。清代鮑康《大錢圖錄》即載「奉先殿所用，各袱四角皆墜此錢，遇列聖升祔時，則更易新建元鑄者」，其所列「光緒通寶」、「宣統通寶」背「天下太平」者皆此。近代修繕北京故宮時，陸續於各殿樑上發現「鎮殿寶匣」，以養心殿為例，其匣內即存24枚「天下太平」金幣。民鑄則有製「搖錢樹」以祈年的風習。懸錢於樹以祀，或製錢樹以為隨葬明器，均為漢末以來風習。晚清富察敦崇於光緒二十六年(公元1900年)所著之《燕京歲時記》，仍提到北京舊俗有「取松柏枝大者，插於瓶中，綴以古錢、元寶、石榴花等，謂之『搖錢樹』」；清代楊柳青木刻年畫，便有枝上串錢之搖錢樹，錢文見「天下太平」、「五穀豐登」、「金玉滿堂」、「長命富貴」者。

花錢，又稱「花子錢」、「吉語錢」，是一類不作流通貨幣使用的銅質鑄幣，常見於明清及民國時期。其造型多仿傳統方孔圓錢，錢文則改為吉祥語、歷史人物、宗教圖像或民間故事，用以表達祝福、祈福、辟邪、喜慶等寓意。花錢的製作多出自民間，風格多樣，工藝繁簡不一，是傳統文化與信仰的物質表徵，因而有學者倡統名為「民俗錢」。

開爐錢，亦屬於花錢一類，通常於鑄錢局新設或開工時鑄造，具有紀念與祈福雙重功能。此類錢幣往往鑄有「開爐」、「試鑄」、「吉祥」等字樣，象徵鑄局運作順利、財源廣進，並用以祭祀爐神或分贈相關官員與工匠。開爐錢存世稀少，形制特殊，是研究錢幣工藝與官方鑄幣制度的重要實物資料。