Item number: A2707

Year: AD 1149-1169

Material: Iron

Size: 22.6 x 22.3 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 3.15 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This is an iron coin cast under the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Western Xia, Li Renxiao, during the Tiansheng era.

The obverse bears the inscription “Tiansheng Yuanbao” in regular script, arranged in a clockwise circular reading. A star-shaped dot appears on the left side of the character “Tian”. The reverse is blank, bearing no inscription.

According to the “Revised Statutes of the Tiansheng Era”, the circulation of iron coins was restricted to the jurisdiction of the Southern Military Command of the Western Xia and was prohibited within the imperial capital. In modern times, such coins are frequently unearthed in the Hetao region of Inner Mongolia. Due to the ferocity of Mongol invasions and the neglect of Western Xia history during the compilation of official records under the Yuan dynasty, surviving historical sources concerning the Western Xia are limited. The exact geographical scope of the Southern Command remains unclear. Based on Song dynasty sources, Western Xia began casting coins in AD 1158, the tenth year of the Tiansheng era, with the establishment of the Tongji Mint Bureau. In reality, coin production began much earlier, but it was only after the founding of the bureau that coinage became large-scale. The Tongji Bureau primarily produced copper coins.

The Western Xia dynasty was established by Li Yuanhao of the Tangut Tuoba clan in the third year of the Daqing era under Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia (the fifth year of Jingyou under Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song), equivalent to AD 1038, at which time he proclaimed himself emperor. The capital was Xingling, located in present-day Ningxia. The regime created its own writing system (Tangut script) and institutional framework. It coexisted in a tripartite power structure with the Northern and Southern Song, the Liao, and the Jin dynasties. The last ruler, Li Xian, surrendered to the Mongols in AD 1227 (the second year of the Baoyi era) and was executed. The dynasty lasted ten reigns and 190 years. By the Zhen’guan era under Emperor Chongzong, the Western Xia had already established a unified legal code. At the beginning of the Tiansheng era, the “Revised Statutes of the Tiansheng Era” were promulgated, aiming to reform outdated practises and consolidate imperial authority. However, this reform period coincided with the rise to power of Ren Dejing, a former Assistant Magistrate of Xi’an Prefecture who had surrendered to the Western Xia from the Song dynasty and gained influence at court by presenting a woman to Emperor Renzong. In the first year of the Qianyou era (AD 1170), he attempted to divide the territory and establish a separate state but was ultimately executed following his failure.

物件編號: A2707

年代: 公元 1149-1169 年

材質: 鐵

尺寸: 22.6 x 22.3 x 1.4 mm

重量: 3.15 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

這是一枚由西夏仁宗李仁孝，於天盛年間所鑄之鐵質「天盛元寶」。

錢幣正面錢文為「天盛元寶」楷書，旋讀。「天」字左側有一星點。錢背無文。

按《天盛改舊新定律令》，鐵錢的行用限於西夏南院軍司所在地，禁入京師。近代多於內蒙古河套地區出土。因蒙古侵攻猛烈，加以元代修史時的忽略，西夏史料存世較少。南院具體範圍亦不明。按宋方史料，西夏自天盛十年(公元1158年)置通濟監始鑄錢，實則遠早於此，只是置通濟監後始大量鑄錢，通濟監應以銅錢為主。

西夏為党項拓跋氏李元昊於西夏景宗大慶三年(北宋仁宗景祐五年)，即公元1038年，建國稱帝，首府興靈位於今寧夏。並制備西夏文與典章制度。先後與兩宋、遼、金成鼎足之勢。傳至末主李睍，不敵蒙古後，於寶義二年(公元1227年)投降見殺。歷十帝，享國一百九十年。西夏最晚於崇宗貞觀年間便已有統一的法度律令。天盛初年，頒《天盛改舊新定律令》，原欲革故鼎新，維皇權不墜，卻遇宋降夏之西安州通判任得敬獻女仁宗，入朝攬權。乾祐元年(公元1170年)，裂土分國失敗被誅。