Item number: A3016

Year: AD 1911-1912

Material: Bronze

Size: 18.3 x 18.2 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 1.75 g

Manufactured by: Dongchuan Prefecture, Yunnan

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a bronze coin inscribed with “Republic Tongbao,” issued in the traditional square-holed format during the early years of the Republic of China by Dongchuan Prefecture, a major copper-producing region in Yunnan.

This coin is notably small and is entirely covered with a dark patina. On the obverse, the four Chinese characters Republic Tongbao are inscribed in a clockwise sequence: top, bottom, right, and left.

The reverse bears the inscription of the issuing location, “Dongchuan,” on the right and left sides. Since the Qing dynasty, copper mined in Dongchuan had served as a vital source of raw material for the imperial mint.

Following the establishment of the Republic of China, the military government reorganised the mining operations into the “Dongchuan Mining Company,” a joint public-private enterprise to continue the extraction of copper resources.

Republic Tongbao ranks among the last square-holed coins issued in Chinese history. In addition to being produced in Dongchuan Prefecture, Yunnan—a major centre of copper mining—there are also presumed varieties struck mechanically in Tianjin, featuring denominations of one wen and ten wen. These Tianjin issues are notably larger in size.

物件編號: A3016

年代: 公元 1911-1912 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 18.3 x 18.2 x 0.9 mm

重量: 1.75 g

製造地: 東川府，雲南

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚民國創立之初，雲南的重要銅礦產區東川府以傳統的方孔錢造型發行之「民國通寶」銅錢。

這枚錢幣的外觀十分嬌小，通體為黑色的包漿所覆蓋。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左的順序，分別鐫刻漢字「民國通寶」四字。錢幣背面的右側和左側則鐫刻發行地點「東川」字樣。自清朝以來，東川出產的銅礦便是朝廷鑄造錢幣的重要原料來源。民國成立以後，軍政府以官民合辦的方式改組為「東川礦業公司」維持礦產的開採。

民國通寶是中國歷史上最後發行的方孔錢之一，除了在雲南東川府投入生產之外，亦有疑似由天津以機械鑄造的面額一文和當十兩種版型，其尺寸較為巨大。