Item number: A2760

Year: AD 1651-1653

Material: Brass

Size: 25.5 x 25.5 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 3.9 g

Manufactured by: Jiangnan Province Jiangning Mint Bureau (Present-day Nanjing)

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2019

This coin is a specimen of the “Shunzhi Tongbao”, cast under the authority of the Shunzhi Emperor during the period from AD 1651 to 1653 (Shunzhi 8–10), by the Jiangning Mint Bureau of Jiangnan Province.

The coin adopts the traditional round form with a square central hole, characteristic of the Sinosphere. It is composed of brass. The obverse bears the inscription “Shunzhi Tongbao” in standard (kaishu) script, read vertically from top to bottom and right to left. The radical “辵” in the character “Tong” appears in its single-dot form (“辶”), a variant known as “single-dot Tong”. The component of the character “Bao” typically written as resembling a “缶” element in modern form, is here rendered with an “Er” (尔) variant, referred to as “Er Bao”.

On the reverse, the character “Ning” is inscribed above the square hole, indicating the minting authority. The character is written in an archaic form, “𡨴”, in which the final horizontal stroke of the “皿” component extends slightly wider than the square hole below it.

In AD 1650 (Shunzhi 3), the Qing court established the provincial mint bureau in Jiangning, the capital of Jiangnan Province. Three sub-mints were set up under its administration—Baoyuan, Kaitong, and Guangzhu—housing a total of 600 furnaces, making it the largest regional mint complex of its time. From its founding until AD 1651 (Shunzhi 8), the mint produced the first type of “Shunzhi Tongbao”, which featured a plain reverse. From Shunzhi 8 to 10 (AD 1651–1653), the second type was introduced, including reverse inscriptions. Records indicate that during a six-month minting period beginning in April of Shunzhi 8, the Jiangning mint produced over 198 million cash coins, reflecting its remarkable production capacity. Nonetheless, due to the relatively short minting period, coins bearing the reverse inscription “Ning” remain comparatively rare.

Jiangning was considered the strategic core of southern China, described as “the hub binding ten provinces”. Its economic and political importance made it a priority for Qing governance. The central government assigned a Vice Minister of Revenue to reside at the mint for direct supervision and gave the Jiangning bureau authority over neighbouring regional mints. As such, its institutional status was on par with the capital mints at Baoquan and Baoyuan in Beijing, forming a dual minting system with both northern and southern centres of production. The Jiangning mint played a pivotal role in financing military campaigns and consolidating Qing rule in the south, providing essential monetary resources for military expansion and promoting fiscal integration and governance in newly annexed territories.

During the 18-year reign of Emperor Shunzhi, the “Shunzhi Tongbao” coins were categorised into five major types based on the patterns on the reverse side:

The Shunzhi Emperor, personal name Aisin Gioro Fulin, was the first emperor of the Qing dynasty to rule over China proper after the Manchu conquest. He reigned from AD 1644 to 1661. Ascending the throne at a young age, he was initially under the regency of Prince Dorgon, who led Qing forces in their entry into the Central Plain, establishing the capital in Beijing and completing the shift of power from the northeast to the entirety of Han Chinese territory. After Dorgon’s death, Shunzhi assumed personal rule and actively promoted policies of sinicisation, including the appointment of Han officials and the restoration of the imperial civil examination system, in order to stabilise public sentiment and consolidate authority. He also enforced the queue order and clothing reforms, which met with resistance among Han Chinese but were eventually implemented by the Qing state. During his reign, Shunzhi focused on suppressing residual Ming loyalist forces and regional opposition. Despite ongoing conflict, the Qing gradually extended effective central control over the empire. In cultural matters, Shunzhi promoted Confucianism and venerated Buddhism, particularly Chan (Zen) Buddhism, with widespread tales of his later inclination toward monastic life. He died prematurely at the age of 22 and was succeeded by his son Xuanye, the future Kangxi Emperor.

物件編號: A2760

年代: 公元 1651-1653 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 25.5 x 25.5 x 0.9 mm

重量: 3.9 g

製造地: 江南江寧錢局(今南京)

來源: 大城郵幣社 2019

此錢為順治帝所鑄之「順治通寶」，於順治八年至順治十年(公元1651-1653年)，由江南省江寧錢局所鑄造。

此錢形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢，材質為黃銅，錢面錢文為漢文「順治通寶」楷書，由上而下，由右而左對讀。「通」字「辵」旁為單點「辶」，稱「單點通」；「寶」字今寫為「缶」旁的部件，於錢文中寫為「尔」旁，稱「尔寶」。

錢背錢文為漢文「寧」，鐫於方穿之上，標示錢局。「寧」字寫為異體「𡨴」字，「皿」旁之末筆橫劃稍寬於方穿。

順治三年(公元1650年)，清廷於江南省省會江寧設立省局，開設寶源、開通、廣鑄三廠，設有六百座爐，為地方中規模最宏大者，自設局至順治八年期間皆鑄第一式光背「順治通寶」，順治八年至十年間則改鑄第二式。據載，僅順治八年四月起鼓鑄半年，即生產制錢逾一億九千八百萬文，顯示江南錢局產能極為可觀。然因鑄行時間相對較短，背「寧」字之錢存世量仍屬稀少。江寧為清廷視為「綰轂十省」之根本之地，其經濟與政治地位舉足輕重，為掌握此要地，清廷特派戶部侍郎駐局督造，並節制鄰近各省錢局，其制度地位與京師寶泉、寶源局齊肩，構成一北一南並重之鑄錢體系。江寧錢局在軍費籌措與南方政權鞏固上發揮關鍵作用，不僅為軍事擴張提供資源支撐，亦透過穩定貨幣流通，加強清廷在新附地區的財政與治理基礎。

順治皇帝統治的18年間，其鑄造的順治通寶按照背面版式，總計有五大種類：

順治帝，名愛新覺羅·福臨，是清朝入關後首位皇帝，公元1644年至1661年在位。順治帝即位初期，由攝政王多爾袞輔政，推動清軍入主中原，建都北京，完成政權從東北向漢地全境的轉移。多爾袞去世後，順治帝親政，積極推行漢化政策，任用漢人官員，並推動科舉制度恢復，以穩定民心與鞏固統治。他亦下令剃髮易服，引發部分漢族反抗，但最終為清廷所強行推行。順治帝在位期間致力平定南明遺臣勢力與地方割據，雖屢經戰亂，仍逐步實現清廷中央對全國的有效統治。在文化上，他提倡儒學，尊崇佛教，尤其篤信禪宗，並晚年傾向出家傳說廣為流傳。順治帝於22歲早逝，由其子玄燁繼位，即康熙帝。