Item number: A2710

Year: AD 1354 / 1366

Material: Bronze

Size: 27.8 x 27.4 x 1.5 mm

Weight: 6.4 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This coin was issued under Emperor Shun of the Yuan dynasty during either the fourteenth year of the Zhizheng era (AD 1354) or the twenty-sixth year of the same era (AD 1366). It bears the inscription “Zhizheng Tongbao” (至正通寶) and carries a denomination of one wen, also referred to as “xiao ping qian” (小平錢), meaning “small standard coin”.

The coin follows the traditional Han Chinese format of a round shape with a square hole in the centre. The inscription on the obverse reads “Zhizheng Tongbao” in regular script, arranged in a clockwise sequence from top to bottom, right to left.

On the reverse, above the square central hole (“qianchuan” 錢穿), the inscription appears to be the ‘Phags-pa script character “ꡟ”, which corresponds to the Chinese cyclical sign “wu” (午). This serves as a date marker. During the Zhizheng period, the cyclical year “wu” appears in both the jiawu year (AD 1354) and the bingwu year (AD 1366).

The ’Phags-pa script was designed by the Tibetan Sakya lama Phagspa, appointed Imperial Preceptor by Kublai Khan. Based on the Tibetan writing system, this script was intended as a unified writing system for the multilingual Mongol Empire. Zhizheng Tongbao coins may be categorised into three types according to the reverse inscription: those with Mongolian cyclical characters, those with Mongolian denomination marks, and those with both Mongolian and Chinese denomination or cyclical marks. The present specimen belongs to the third category.

In the eleventh year of Zhizheng (AD 1351), Chancellor Toqto’a initiated a monetary reform aimed at remedying the economic crisis caused by the overissuance and counterfeiting of paper currency. The reform stipulated that one string (guàn) of Zhongtong Jiaochao notes be exchangeable for 1,000 copper cash coins, with the Zhizheng Tongbao coins to circulate alongside the new paper currency. Lü Sicheng, Grand Academician of the Jixian Institute, strongly opposed the reform, arguing that the coexistence of metal coins and paper notes would lead the populace to hoard tangible currency and abandon the abstract, undermining public trust and harming the state. Despite his objections, the reform was implemented. The Baoyuan Mint Office was established to oversee the minting of Zhizheng Tongbao coins and the printing of new notes. However, due to ongoing military campaigns and the excessive issuance of paper money, inflation accelerated rapidly and the value of currency plummeted. Before long, the monetary system collapsed, paper currency became worthless, and the Zhizheng Tongbao coinage was unable to stem the financial and institutional breakdown that characterised the final years of the Yuan dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Huizong (Toghon Temür, AD 1333–1368), the Yuan dynasty experienced a steep decline. Beginning in AD 1342, repeated flooding of the Yellow River brought devastating floods and famine to Henan, Shandong, and Huai regions, with widespread reports of cannibalism. Scholars have attributed these calamities in part to abnormal climatic conditions associated with the Little Ice Age. In AD 1351, Toqto’a appointed Jiaru to lead a major hydraulic project to redirect the Yellow River’s flow, which was successfully completed but required massive labour conscription. The resulting hardship triggered a popular uprising, and the Red Turban rebels emerged. Although the government managed temporary military successes, the rise of regional warlords such as Fang Guozhen and Zhang Shicheng severed grain transport routes and crippled state finances. Toqto’a’s failed southern campaign and subsequent political downfall left the central government leaderless and disorganised. After Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Chen Youliang in AD 1363, he unified the south and declared himself emperor in Nanjing in AD 1368. The Yuan court, plagued by internal disorder and lacking support from northern military commanders, was forced to retreat from Dadu, an event traditionally viewed as the fall of the Yuan dynasty.

However, the Great Yuan Ulus—known in historiography as the Northern Yuan—did not formally change its dynastic name and continued to rule from the Mongolian steppe, engaging in prolonged military conflict with the Ming dynasty for decades. In AD 1388, the Northern Yuan ruler, Emperor Tögüs Temür, was killed by Yesüder, a descendant of Ariq Böke, marking the end of the Khubilai lineage and the final collapse of the Yuan imperial house.

物件編號: A2710

年代: 公元 1354 / 1366 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 27.8 x 27.4 x 1.5 mm

重量: 6.4 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

這是一枚由元順帝於至正十四年(公元1354年)或至正二十六年(公元1366年)鑄行的「至正通寶」。幣值為一文，亦稱「小平錢」。

錢幣形制為漢地傳統的方孔圜錢。錢幣正面錢文為「至正通寶」楷書，由上至下、由右至左對讀。

錢背錢穿上方之錢文應為八思巴文「ꡟ」，即「午」。為紀年符號，於至正年間，有甲午年(公元1354年)與丙午年(公元1366年)。

八思巴文為元朝開國皇帝忽必烈指派國師，來自西藏的薩迦派喇嘛八思巴以吐蕃文字為基礎設計的蒙古文字。至正通寶按照背面的差異，分別有：「蒙文地支」、「蒙文紀值」和「蒙漢文紀值紀年」三種版型，該物件屬於第一種類型。

至正十一年(公元1351年)，丞相脫脫為推動貨幣改革，欲改鈔法，旨在挽救因紙幣濫發、偽鈔橫行所導致的經濟危機。改革規定以一貫中統交鈔折算一千文銅錢，並鑄至正通寶與交鈔並行。時任集賢大學士呂思誠極力反對，指出錢鈔並行將致民棄虛存實，非國之利，然最終諫言未被採納。改革實施後，由寶泉提舉司統籌鑄錢與印鈔，但因戰事頻仍，朝廷大量濫印紙幣，致使物價飆升，貨幣迅速貶值。未幾，鈔法崩潰，交鈔如廢紙，至正通寶亦無力回天。

元順帝(公元1333–1368年在位)妥懽貼睦爾統治期間，元朝政局日衰。自公元1342年起，黃河氾濫頻仍，造成河南、山東等地連年水患與饑荒，屍橫遍野，有學者稱小冰河期帶來的異常氣候亦有影響。公元1351年，丞相脫脫任命賈魯治水，徵用大量民力，雖成功疏導黃河，但沉重徭役引爆民變，紅巾軍於是興起。朝廷雖一度反擊成功，但隨即因方國珍、張士誠等割據江南，使海運與財政斷絕。脫脫南征失敗後遭政變，中央再無主帥調度，軍政混亂無法平定地方。公元1363年朱元璋擊敗陳友諒後統一南方，並於公元1368年稱帝南京。元廷因內亂與北地軍閥不援，只得自大都撤退，史稱「元亡」。然實際上，大元兀魯思，或稱北元政權，並未更改國號，仍存於蒙古高原，與明朝對峙長達數十年，衝突不斷。公元1388年，北元之天元帝，脫古思帖木兒，被另一支拖雷血脈末裔也速迭兒所殺，忽必烈的血脈終結。