Item number: A2948

Year: AD 1912-1928

Material: Copper

Size: 28.4 x 28.3 x 1.2 mm

Weight: 7.2 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a privately cast ten-cash copper coin, modelled after the founding commemorative coin issued by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of China between AD 1912 and AD 1928.

On the obverse, the central inscription “Ten Cash” appears to be in regular script (kaishu), flanked on both sides by clusters of grain and grass leaves. A fine ring and a beaded circle separate the centre from the outer rim. The original design featured the English legend “THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA” at the upper rim, denoting the national title “Zhonghua Minguo”; however, on this specimen, the legend is indistinct, reading vaguely as “THL RIIUBI O OP…” with subsequent characters blurred beyond recognition. Two lines of text are separated by ornamental dots. At the lower rim, the original inscription “TEN CASH” is likewise faint and difficult to discern.

The reverse bears a central image of two crossed flags. On the right is the five-coloured flag of the Beiyang Government, symbolising the ideal of harmony among the five ethnic groups; on the left is the Iron and Blood Eighteen-Star Flag, which came to represent the federal republicanism of the eighteen Han provinces following the Wuchang Uprising. In this version, the stripes of the five-coloured flag have been recut into five nearly uniform bands consisting of four incised and one raised; the star points are simplified into two dots and a line. The flags are bound by a cord with tassells hanging below; the knot is stiff in appearance. The original floral vine motifs flanking the flags have been replaced by curling tendrils ending in butterfly-shaped flowers. At the upper rim, where the original coin bore the national title “中華民國”, this specimen instead displays the erroneous inscription “中羋氏囧”, with the character “囧” rotated ninety degrees. The lower rim bears “開國紀念幣” (“Founding Commemorative Coin”) in clerical script, though many of the strokes are missing or incomplete; notably, the character “幣” replaces its right-hand radical “攵” with “又”.

Both obverse and reverse are bordered with an outer ring and an inner beaded circle, rendered in weak relief. The coin edge is smooth and unmarked. This coin was likely sand-cast from an official circulation coin, with additional alterations made by illiterate artisans during moulding, leading to numerous errors and omissions in the inscription.

In AD 1912 (1st year of the Republic), the Republic of China was established, marking the end of monarchy and the rise of republican governance. The new government decided to issue “Founding of the Republic Commemorative Coins” to promote republican ideals, stabilise public sentiment and finances, and to replace the traditional Chinese cash coins with square holes. The form and style of the new coinage aligned with international monetary standards. The initiative was first led by the Nanjing Provisional Government and subsequently continued under the Beiyang Government. Thereafter, due to prolonged political instability and the fragmentation of authority among regional warlords, copper coins, though nominally auxiliary currency, in practise formed a separate monetary system. Their exchange rate with the silver-based primary currency fluctuated constantly. Coin designs varied across regions, and there were considerable differences in minting quality and copper composition. The units of denomination were also diverse and complex, including wen, mei, fen, li, and xian. In AD 1935 (24th year of the Republic), the Nationalist government initiated further monetary unification, designating the Shanghai Mint as the sole institution authorised to issue coinage, thereby bringing an end to the copper coin system inherited from the late Qing dynasty and ushering in the era of legal tender currency.

In addition to disorder caused by a lack of central authority and rampant private minting, large-scale unauthorised official imitations also existed. In AD 1920 (the 9th year of the Republic), General Kong Fanjin, then Commander of the Longnan Garrison, was stationed in Tianshui. He ordered the mass sand-casting of imitation ten-cash and twenty-cash coins modelled after other provinces, with extremely poor craftsmanship and materials, to make up for fiscal shortages. This illicit minting continued for five years. In AD 1924, after acquiring new machinery, Kong shifted production to larger denominations—fifty-cash and one-hundred-cash coins—intended for sale and recasting. Ironically, the so-called “Tianshui sand-cast” inferior coins have become rare survivors and valuable artefacts for numismatic study today.

物件編號: A2948

年代: 公元 1912-1928 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 28.4 x 28.3 x 1.2 mm

重量: 7.2 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚以財政部於公元1912至1928年所發行之開國紀念幣之幣圖為範，私鑄之十文銅元。

銅元正面中央幣文為「十文」，似為楷書，兩側以嘉禾及草葉簇擁。以細環及珠圈相隔，外圈上方原環列英文「THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA」即國號「中華民國」；此幣則隱約為「THL RIIUBI O OP…」其後字跡漫漶；兩側以點飾相隔兩行幣文，下方原環列「TEN CASH」，即「十文」；此處亦字跡漫漶，難以辨識。

銅元背面中央為雙旗圖，右為北洋政府時期之國旗五色旗，象徵五族共和；左為鐵血十八星旗，自武昌起義後象徵漢地十八省聯省共和。五色旗條帶改刻為幾乎等寬的五陽刻四陰刻；星芒簡化為兩點一線。雙旗交叉，以纓相繫，有穗垂下，纓結僵直。雙旗左右側原圖花葉纏枝，改為藤蔓盤捲，末端有蝶狀花，上方原環列國號「中華民國」，此處列「中羋氏囧」，「囧」字並旋轉九十度；下方環列「開國紀念幣」，似為隸書，多字省筆，「幣」字右上「攵」旁寫為「又」。

銅元正背面幣緣均為外環內珠圈，模糊隱起。幣稜光素無紋。此幣或以行用幣翻砂改鑄而成，或再經工人不識字者於掛砂而字模不顯處加筆，故多有錯漏。

民國元年(公元1912年)，中華民國成立，帝制終結，共和方興。政府決定發行「開國紀念幣」，藉此宣揚共和理念、穩定民心與財政，同時替代傳統中國使用的方孔圓錢，形制上接軌世界。最初由南京臨時政府主導，隨後北洋政府繼續發行。此後，由於長期政局板蕩，軍閥割據，銅元名為輔幣，實則自成體系，與銀主幣匯率隨時而升降。幣圖各地不同，工藝與銅質更是差別頗大，紀值單位亦複雜多元，有文、枚、分、釐、仙等。民國二十四年(公元1935年)，國民黨政府開始進一步統一幣制，規定僅上海鑄幣廠有鑄幣權，終結作為晚清遺緒的銅元制，進入法幣時代。

除中央威權不彰，民間私鑄混亂外，另有官方大宗倣鑄者。民國九年(公元1920年)，孔繁錦任隴南鎮守使，駐防天水。孔繁錦並下令大量翻砂倣鑄他省十文、二十文幣，工藝、品質皆低劣，以補財政，其濫鑄達五年之久。但民國十三年(公元1924年)，孔新購機器後，購銷銅錢以改鑄五十文、一百文之大錢。所謂「天水砂版」劣錢如今反而存世不多。