Item number: A2741

Year: AD 1130-1137

The results after XRF testing

Material: Copper Alloy

Size: 25.3 x 25.3 x 0.8 mm

Weight: 3.05 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2020

This is a “Fuchang Yuanbao” coin minted and circulated between the first and eighth years of the Fuchang era (AD 1130–1137) during the reign of the Da Qi regime.

The coin adopts the traditional square-holed round form characteristic of the Han cultural sphere. The obverse bears the inscription “Fuchang Yuanbao” in regular script with traces of running script, to be read in a clockwise sequence beginning at the top right.

The reverse includes both an outer rim and an inner border, although the latter is relatively shallow. The surface of the reverse is plain and bears no inscription.

According to the Yongle Encyclopedia, under the “History of Jin” entry, it is recorded that “in the eighth year of Tianhui, Liu Yu of Jinan declared himself emperor and changed the reign title to Fuchang. The coinage minted at the time comprised six types: the large ‘Zhongbao’, followed by ‘Tongbao’, and the smaller ‘Yuanbao’, all written in true seal script, with fine craftsmanship.” During the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty, Li Zuoxian in his work Guquan Hui speculated that the Yuanbao was equivalent to a small-denomination coin, that the regular-script “Tongbao” may have represented a value of two, the seal-script “Tongbao” a value of three, and the “Zhongbao” possibly equivalent to three or five coins. By the fifteenth year of the Tianhui era (AD 1137), the Liu Qi regime was abolished by the Jin. Nonetheless, Qi coinage may have continued to circulate under Jin administration for some time thereafter. Due to the short duration of its minting, the scarcity of copper in northern regions, and its later designation as a regime of treachery by subsequent Han-led dynasties, such coins were likely subject to melting and recasting. As a result, surviving specimens have become exceedingly rare in later periods.

Liu Yu, courtesy name Yanhe, was originally a circuit judicial commissioner (ti xing) of the Hebei Western Circuit under the Northern Song. In AD 1127, following the fall of Bianjing in the Jingkang Incident and the abduction of Emperors Huizong and Qinzong to the north, the Song court retreated to the south. Liu Yu fled his post during the invasion. After widespread plundering, the Jin army advanced on Jinan. Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song appointed Liu Yu as prefect and military commander of Jinan in an effort to mount a defence. However, Liu Yu killed the garrison commander Guan Sheng and surrendered the city to the Jin.

In the context of Jin imperial factional struggles and their strategy to consolidate rule over northern China, Wanyan Zonghan (also known as Nianhan) initially supported Zhang Bangchang as Emperor of Chu, but the plan failed. Subsequently, in AD 1130, Liu Yu was appointed Prince of Qi and in the following year declared Emperor of the newly established Da Qi regime, adopting the reign title Fuchang and establishing the capital at Daming Prefecture (formerly the Northern Song’s Beijing, present-day Handan in Hebei). This puppet regime governed areas including Henan, Shandong, and Hebei, and is referred to in historical records as Liu Qi or the “False Qi” regime. Internally, Liu Yu modelled his administration on the Song dynasty, establishing official institutions and issuing coinage bearing reign titles; externally, however, he remained subordinate to the Jin, with all major military and political decisions subject to Jin court approval. His rule lacked popular legitimacy and was widely regarded as traitorous collaboration. In AD 1138, Emperor Xizong of Jin resolved to directly govern northern China and contest political legitimacy with the Southern Song, thereby abolishing Liu Yu’s imperial title and placing the northern provinces under direct Jin administration. Liu Yu was deposed and relocated to the Jin capital of Shangjing Huining Prefecture (present-day Acheng in Heilongjiang), where he eventually died in confinement.

Iridium, as one of the platinum group elements, is extremely rare in nature, with an average crustal abundance of less than 0.001 ppm. Its exceptionally high melting point and chemical inertness rendered it impractical for ancient metallurgical applications, and it was unlikely to enter alloy compositions through standard smelting processes. However, during the natural formation and metallogenic processes of gold, silver, and copper ores, iridium may occur as trace inclusions or associated minerals, especially in compositae ore deposits derived from igneous rocks, such as pyrite, chalcopyrite, or platinum-group-bearing alluvial gold sands. Typical iridium concentrations range from 0.1 to 1 ppm, with rare enriched concentrates reaching no more than 10 ppm. Due to the limitations of ancient refining technologies, such trace impurities could remain in partially purified metals. For instance, silverware that was not thoroughly cupelled has occasionally yielded iridium concentrations of tens to hundreds of ppb, serving as a geochemical indicator of natural ore sources. Similarly, early copper alloys or smelted products derived from chalcopyrite containing platinum-group metal micro-inclusions may retain iridium content below 1 ppm, reflecting the natural geological background of elements such as platinum, osmium, and ruthenium.

物件編號: A2741

年代: 公元 1130-1137 年

XRF分析結果:

材質: 銅合金

尺寸: 25.3 x 25.3 x 0.8 mm

重量: 3.05 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2020

這是一枚於大齊阜昌元年至阜昌八年(公元1130至1137年)，所鑄行的「阜昌元寶」錢幣。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢文為「阜昌元寶」楷書，有行書意，自上右旋而讀。

錢面背外輪內廓俱全，錢背輪廓較淺，光素無文。

據《永樂大典·金史》載，「天會八年，濟南劉豫爲帝，改元阜昌。當時所鑄錢凡六品，大重寶，次通寶，小元寶，並皆眞篆，制作頗精。」咸豐年間李佐賢著《古泉匯》，推測元寶為小平錢，真書通寶似當二，篆書通寶似當三，重寶似當三或當五。至天會十五年，劉齊為金所廢，此後齊錢或仍續行於金。而因鑄行日短，北地又缺銅，又為後世漢政權視為叛逆，或遭鎔鑄，後世頗為珍稀。

劉豫，字彦和，本為北宋河北西路提刑。靖康二年(公元1127年)，靖康之變後，汴京陷落，徽、欽二宗北遷，宋室南渡，劉豫則棄官而逃。大掠之後，金軍繼續南下攻濟南，高宗趙構起用劉豫為濟南知府及守備，以作抵抗，劉豫則殺守將關勝獻城降金。金人為宗室政爭以及鞏固其對華北的統治，完顏宗翰(另名粘罕)先擁立張邦昌為楚帝，未果，後於金天會八年(公元1130年)擁立劉豫為齊王，年末改稱大齊皇帝，改元阜昌，定都大名府(原北宋北京，今河北邯鄲)，成為金朝在河南、山東、河北等地所設的傀儡政權，史稱劉齊或偽齊。劉豫對內仿宋制設官建制，並鑄造年號錢，對外則受制於金，凡軍政大事需奏請金廷。其統治缺乏民心，視為漢奸附逆者居多。金天會十五年(公元1137年)，金熙宗決意立足中原，與南宋爭奪中國正朔，廢除劉豫帝號，改以金人直轄華北諸路。劉豫退位後被遷往上京會寧府(今黑龍江阿城)，最終卒於幽禁之地。

銥(Iridium)作為鉑族金屬之一，在自然界中極為稀少，地殼平均含量不足0.001ppm，其高熔點與化學惰性使其在古代金屬工藝中並不具實用性，也難以通過常規冶煉程序進入合金主體。然而，在金、銀、銅等金屬礦物的自然生成與地質成礦過程中，銥有機會以極微量的包裹體或伴生礦形式出現，特別是在某些以火成岩為母岩的複合型礦床中，例如黃鐵礦、黃銅礦或含鉑族礦物的沖積金砂，一般含量通常為0.1至1ppm，在罕見的富集精礦中，最高也不會超過10ppm。由於古代礦石提煉技術無法完全去除這類痕量雜質，部分未經高純度精煉的金屬中可能保留痕量銥，例如在未經重度分金的銀器中檢出數十至數百ppb銥，被視為天然礦源的指標之一。同樣，源自含鉑族金屬微粒礦石的早期銅合金或黃銅礦煉製產物中，若檢出ppm級以下的銥成分，也可能反映出原礦地質背景中鉑族元素(如鉑、鋨、釕等)的自然殘留。