Item number: A2893

Year: AD 1850-1861

Material: Brass

Size: 26.3 x 26.8 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 3.75 g

Provenance: Chang Ming-chuan Collection 2019

This is a charm coin privately cast during the Xianfeng period of the late Qing dynasty (AD 1850–1861), imitating the official currency inscribed with “Xianfeng Tongbao.”

The coin follows the typical Chinese square-holed design and is made of brass, with a black patina covering its entire surface. On the obverse, the four characters Xianfeng Tongbao (咸豐通寶) are engraved in regular script, arranged sequentially from top, bottom, right, to left. Unlike official currency, which features Manchu script on the reverse to indicate the minting location, this privately cast piece instead bears the Chinese characters fu (福, “blessing”) and shou (壽, “longevity”) as auspicious inscriptions.

The Xianfeng Emperor, named Yizhu, was the ninth emperor of the Qing Dynasty and ascended the throne in AD 1850. His reign was marked by a combination of severe internal unrest and external pressure. Shortly after his accession, the Taiping Rebellion erupted, lasting more than a decade and gravely shaking the foundations of Qing rule, while drastically increasing military expenditures and destabilising local governance.

During his reign, he also faced repeated frontier disturbances and popular uprisings, as well as the Second Opium War against Britain and France. The Treaty of Tianjin was signed in AD 1858, and in AD 1860, Anglo-French forces captured Beijing and burned the Old Summer Palace. The emperor fled to Rehe, where he died the following year in a temporary residence. Over his eleven-year reign, the empire suffered substantial decline.

物件編號: A2893

年代: 公元 1850-1861 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 26.3 x 26.8 x 0.9 mm

重量: 3.75 g

來源: 張明泉舊藏 2019

這是一枚清季的咸豐年間 (公元1850至1861年)，民間仿效制錢「咸豐通寶」鑄造的花錢。

錢幣形制為中國典型的方孔錢造型，材質為黃銅，通體為黑色包漿覆蓋。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左順序，依序以漢字楷書書法鐫刻「咸豐通寶」四字。錢幣背面則不同於官方以滿文標示鑄造的地點，改以祝福擁有福氣和長壽的漢字「福壽」作為替代。

咸豐帝，名奕詝，是清朝第九位皇帝，於公元1850年即位。在位期間面臨內憂外患並重的局勢。即位不久便爆發太平天國運動，延續十餘年，嚴重動搖清廷統治根基，朝廷軍費壓力驟增，地方局勢紛亂。咸豐年間亦遭遇多起邊疆騷亂與民變，並與英法等列強發生第二次鴉片戰爭，公元1858年簽訂天津條約，公元1860年英法聯軍攻陷北京，圓明園被焚，咸豐帝西逃熱河，並於翌年病逝於行宮。在位十一年間，國勢大衰。