Item number: A2774

Year: AD 1788-1794

Material: Brass

Size: 24.6 x 24.5 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 4.05 g

Manufactured by: Bao Su Bureau, Suzhou

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2019

This is a “Qianlong Tongbao” coin issued during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty, between the fifty-third and fifty-ninth years of his reign (AD 1788 to 1794). It was cast by the Suzhou Mint Bureau in Jiangsu Province, known as the “Baosu Bureau”. The standard weight of the coin was 1 qian 2 fen (approximately 4.3 grams), with a nominal value of one wen, commonly referred to as a “small normal coin”.

The coin follows the traditional design of Chinese cultural currency, featuring a square hole in the centre of a round coin. The obverse bears the inscription “Qianlong Tongbao” in regular script Chinese characters, read from top to bottom, right to left. The character “乾” has a “乙” component with a short upper and a long lower stroke; the character “通” begins the radical “辶” with two dots; the character “寶” uses the variant “尔” in place of the traditional “缶” radical. The characters “乾” and “通” are closely spaced around the central hole, while the character “寶” touches the coin’s rim. The “通” character includes a modified “甬” radical beginning with the form “ユ” and a lower horizontal stroke extending to the right, a feature referred to as “protruding-head Tong”.

The reverse side features the Manchu script “ᠪᠣᡠ ᠰᡠ”, signifying “Bao” on the left and “Su” on the right. Both characters appear disconnected from the central hole and rim. The character for “Su” is relatively small, and the circular stroke at the end is also smaller than usual, earning it the nickname “small Su”.

Following the establishment of Jiangsu Province by the Qing court in the seventh year of the Kangxi reign (AD 1668), the Baosu Mint was set up in Suzhou under the direction of Provincial Governor Ling Pengnian. It was located at the former site of the Yongfeng Granary from the Ming dynasty, in the southern part of the Taohuawu district within the city walls of Suzhou. In the ninth year of Kangxi (AD 1670), minting ceased for the first time due to copper shortages and inscription buildup on the coin dies. Minting activities resumed and halted intermittently in subsequent reigns. During the Xianfeng period, large-denomination coins were minted to meet fiscal needs. However, with the advance of the Taiping Rebellion in the lower Yangtze region, the Baosu Mint temporarily ceased operations. It resumed in the third year of Tongzhi (AD 1864) and continued until the end of the Guangxu reign, frequently incurring losses due to the costs of copper procurement and labour.

The metallic composition of Qianlong Tongbao coins varied by region. The mints largely depended on imported copper and copper from Yunnan, with multiple changes in procurement policy over time. From the Kangxi to Qianlong reigns, the Qing government employed a system of public-private collaboration for metal acquisition, with some foreign copper handled at customs stations in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. From the first to the fifth years of Qianlong’s reign (AD 1736–1740), the Baosu Mint followed regulations established under Emperor Yongzheng to cast “yellow coins”, using a mixture of 60% copper and 40% lead and zinc.

In the fifth year of Qianlong’s reign, due to widespread illegal melting of coins for private toolmaking, the minting formula was changed to produce “green coins” using 50% red copper, 41.5% white lead (zinc), 6.5% black lead, and 2% tin. All mints were required to adopt this standard. It was said that green coins, when broken down and recast, would shatter with a single blow. However, excavated coins indicate that yellow coins continued to be minted in significant quantities. In the fifty-ninth year of Qianlong’s reign (AD 1794), possibly due to the widespread diffusion of the green coin recasting technique among the populace, the minting of green coins was discontinued, and yellow coin production resumed.

Emperor Qianlong, Aisin Gioro Hongli, ruled from AD 1735 to 1796. Along with Kangxi and Yongzheng, he is regarded as a symbol of Qing imperial prosperity. His reign saw both civil and military achievements, including the compilation of the “Siku Quanshu”, the suppression of the Dzungar and Hui rebellions, and the expansion of imperial territory to its historical zenith. He referred to himself as the “Perfect Old Man”, placing strong emphasis on Confucianism and cultural governance. However, the latter part of his reign was marked by extravagance and increasing political corruption, which sowed the seeds for the eventual decline of the Qing dynasty.

物件編號: A2774

年代: 公元 1788-1794 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 24.6 x 24.5 x 1.0 mm

重量: 4.05 g

製造地: 寶蘇局，蘇州

來源: 大城郵幣社 2019

這是清代乾隆帝，於乾隆五十三年至五十九年(公元1788至1794年)，由江蘇省蘇州府局，即「寶蘇局」，所鑄行之「乾隆通寶」。法重一錢二分(約合今4.3公克)，幣值為一文，亦稱為小平錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢文為漢字「乾隆通寶」楷書，由上至下，由右至左對讀。「乾」字「乙」旁寫為上短下長；「通」字「辶」旁字首寫為二點；「寶」字「缶」旁寫為「尔」。「乾、通」接穿，「寶」字連輪。「通」字「甬」旁字首寫為「ユ」，底橫向右延伸，稱「出頭通」。

錢背錢文為滿文「ᠪᠣᡠ ᠰᡠ」，即左「寶」右「蘇」。二字均似未接穿連輪。滿文「蘇」字較小，末筆形成之圓亦較小，稱「小蘇」

清康熙七年(公元1668年)，清廷設立江蘇省後，在蘇州設立寶蘇局，由布政使伶彭年籌建，局址位於蘇州市城內桃花塢南部原明代永豐倉舊址。康熙九年(公元1670年)因銅源短缺與錢文淤積首次停鑄，後各朝接時停時復。咸豐年間鑄大錢以供財用，但因太平天國進逼長江下游，寶蘇局一度停爐，其後於同治三年(公元1864年)再開爐，直至光緒末年方停。因銅政與人力成本之故，經常虧損。

乾隆通寶的成色，按地區也各有差別，所用原料多依賴洋銅與滇銅，並歷經多次政策變更：康熙至乾隆年間改採官商與民商合作方式採辦，部分洋銅亦由江浙關口負責。乾隆元年至五年(公元1736-1740年)，寶蘇局襲雍正朝定例，鑄「黃錢」，以銅六鉛(鋅及鉛)四搭配。乾隆五年，由於民間毀錢鑄器以圖利的現象普遍，於是改以紅銅百分之五十、白鉛(鋅)百分之四十一點五、黑鉛百分之六點五、點錫百分之二的比例改鑄「青錢」，各錢局一體遵行，據稱若毀青錢鑄器則一擊即碎。但按出土實物，似乎仍鑄黃錢者仍有不少。乾隆五十九年(公元1794年)，或因民間改鑄青錢之新技術廣泛傳播，故廢青錢，復鑄黃錢。

乾隆帝，清高宗愛新覺羅弘曆，公元1735至1796年在位，乾隆與康、雍並為清朝盛世的象徵。他推行文治武功，編修《四庫全書》，平定準噶爾與回部叛亂，擴展帝國疆域至歷史高峰，以此自稱「十全老人」，並重視儒學與文化治理。晚年奢侈揮霍，政治日漸腐敗，為清朝衰退埋下伏筆。