Item number: A2962

Year: AD 1912-1925

Material: Copper

Size: 28.3 x 28.3 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 6.95 g

Manufactured by: Hunan Mint, Changsha

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a ten-cash copper coin minted by the Hunan Mint between AD 1912 and 1925.

The obverse features a central crossed-flag motif. The flag on the right is the Five-Coloured Flag used during the Beiyang Government period, symbolising the unity of the five major ethnic groups. The flag on the left is the Nineteen-Star Flag, which at the time served as the standard of the Army and Air Force. It was adapted from the Iron-Blood Eighteen-Star Flag, originally representing the federal republican alliance of the eighteen Han Chinese provinces following the Wuchang Uprising. The additional central star symbolises the central government. The Nineteen-Star Flag includes seven distinct creases. The two flags are tied together with decorative cords, from which relatively narrow streamers descend and gently rise at the ends. Above the crossed flags is an elliptical chrysanthemum motif with twelve petals. A circular border separates the inner motif from the inscriptions. Along the upper rim appears the national title “中華民國” (“Republic of China”), with no dots on either side. The lower rim is inscribed with the denomination “當十銅元” (“Ten-Cash Copper Coin”), written in clerical script, except for the character “銅” (copper), which appears in regular script. This style is known as the “regular copper” variety. The upper and lower inscriptions are separated on both sides by grapevine and tendril motifs.

The reverse features a “Jiahe” motif (auspicious grain), consisting of five bundles of rice ears and four rice leaves symmetrically arranged. Each bundle displays a twin-spikelet formation, with two rice ears growing opposite each other. Since the Zhou dynasty, such natural mutations have been regarded as auspicious, associated with rarity and increased yield, and hence referred to as “Jiahe.” Together with the grapevine motifs on the obverse, the Jiahe symbol represents abundance and prosperity, conveying the ideal of “ensuring sufficient harvests for the people and promoting agriculture as a national foundation.” The central stalk is flanked by two robust lateral leaves. The incised leaf veins do not connect with the folded sections of the leaves. At the bottom, a coiled bundle of rope is wound eighteen times, with the rope’s end hanging downward. A circular border encloses the design. The upper rim is inscribed with “THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA,” denoting the national title, while the lower rim reads “TEN CASH,” indicating the denomination. The inscriptions on the upper and lower rims are separated on both sides by circular dots.

Both obverse and reverse are bordered by raised rims featuring inward-pointing fine square denticles, known as “horse teeth,” serving to protect the coin’s design. The coin edge is flat, smooth, and unadorned.

The Hunan Mint was first established in AD 1898, during the 24th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, and ceased minting in AD 1909 (1st year of the Xuantong reign). It resumed operations in AD 1912 (1st year of the Republic), initially issuing coins bearing the Eighteen-Star emblem, and subsequently producing large quantities of ten-cash copper coins with the auspicious grain design. During the First World War, copper became a critical material for munitions, wiring, and shipbuilding, driving up its price. In response, Chinese mints issued higher denomination copper coins, such as twenty-cash pieces, whose face value exceeded their metal worth. Following the war, the price of copper plummeted, generating excessive profits for the mints.

In early AD 1918 (7th year of the Republic), Zhang Jingyao entered Hunan as military governor and provincial leader, ostensibly to campaign against the southern Constitutional Protection Movement led by Sun Yat-sen. In AD 1919 (8th year of the Republic), he expanded the Hunan Mint and issued large quantities of twenty-cash coins (referred to as “double copper coins” to distinguish them from the ten-cash “single copper coins”) and recklessly printed paper currency to enrich himself. The twenty-cash coins were poor in quality and often so debased that in some provinces they were accepted at only half their nominal value. From AD 1919 onwards, due to a nationwide surplus of copper coins, the central government repeatedly issued edicts halting production. Many provinces defied these orders. Eventually, the central government restricted copper shipments into Hunan, and the Hunan Provincial Assembly passed a resolution imposing a deadline to cease minting. The mint finally closed in AD 1925 (14th year of the Republic) when copper stocks were exhausted and the machinery was taken over by the provincial treasury.

The early republican period in Hunan was marked by political instability and frequent changes in military leadership. Initially governed by Tan Yankai, who advocated constitutional reform and brought temporary stability, the province fell under military control following the failed Second Revolution, becoming a battleground for rival warlords. Zhang Jingyao and other Beiyang-affiliated generals successively held power, bringing hardship to the population. In AD 1920 (9th year of the Republic), the “Expel Zhang Movement” emerged as local gentry and intellectuals rose against Zhang’s despotic rule, ultimately succeeding in removing him. Tan Yankai then returned to implement provincial self-governance, though hindered by numerous obstacles. By AD 1926 (15th year of the Republic), the National Revolutionary Army captured Changsha, and the left wing of the Kuomintang, in alliance with the Chinese Communist Party, initiated land reforms in Hunan. This led to the purging of local elites and transformed Hunan into a frontline region in the ensuing Nationalist-Communist conflict.

物件編號: A2962

年代: 公元 1912-1925 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 28.3 x 28.3 x 1.4 mm

重量: 6.95 g

製造地: 湖南造幣廠，長沙

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚由湖南造幣廠，於公元1912至1925年所鑄之當十銅元。

銅元正面中央為雙旗圖，右為北洋政府時期之國旗五色旗，象徵五族共和；左為十九星旗，為當時陸軍及空軍旗，改自武昌起義後象徵漢地十八省聯省共和之鐵血十八星旗，居中一星點象徵中央政府。十九星旗上有七道皺褶；雙旗以纓相繫，飄帶下垂微微揚起，飄帶較窄；雙旗之間上方為一橢圓菊花紋樣，分十二瓣。以環相隔，上方環列國號「中華民國」，兩側無點；下方環列面額「當十銅元」，皆為隸書，惟「銅」字為楷書，稱「楷銅」，上下環列之幣文以葡萄及藤相隔。

銅元背面中央為嘉禾圖，五束稻穗與四片稻葉對稱排列，稻穗成雙穗禾形態，即各串稻穗兩兩對生。自周代起，這種稻穗的自然突變便由於其稀有與增產的效果，被視為祥瑞，故稱「嘉禾」。嘉禾與正面葡萄藤幣圖，皆為豐饒多產之象徵，「取豐歲足民之義，垂勸農務本之規」。中央稻稈兩側夾葉較粗壯，葉脈與葉片旋折處陰刻皆不相連。下方繩團纏繞十八圈，綁繩末端垂下。以環相隔，外圈上方環列「THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA」，即國號「中華民國」；下方環列「TEN CASH」即面額「當十」或「十文」。上下環列之幣文，以圓點分飾兩側相隔。

正背面幣緣均有環，並有細方齒向內，稱「馬齒」，作保護幣圖之用。幣稜平直，光素無紋。

湖南造幣廠自清光緒二十四年(公元1898年)開辦，斷續鑄幣至宣統元年(公元1909年)停鑄。民國元年(公元1912年)復鑄，先鑄湖南銅元當十背十八星圖，後旋鑄大量嘉禾圖當十銅元或十文。一戰時，由於銅成為槍彈、導線、造船等軍需物資，銅價日貴，中國各地鑄幣廠增鑄二十文及以上等虛值大額銅幣以補虧損。一戰結束後，銅價驟降，鑄銅元之餘利更是暴增。民國7年(公元1918年)初，張敬堯入湘任湖南督軍兼省長，以討伐南方孫文所領之護法軍政府。民國八年(公元1919年)，張敬堯擴建湖南造幣廠，增發二十文銅元(時稱雙銅元，以別於面額十文之單銅元)、濫發紙鈔以斂財。湖南二十文虛值銅元發行數量龐大，銅質與工藝皆低劣，流通於外省時，於一些省分僅能作價十文使用。民國八年起，由於全國銅元過剩，中央便多次嚴令停鑄，多省不從。後中央以查禁銅料等入湘以作限制，湖南省議會亦議案令限期停鑄，最終於民國14年(公元1925年)，銅料將罄之時關車，由財政司收管。

民初湖南政局動盪，軍閥更迭頻繁。初期由譚延闓任都督，主張憲政與改革，短暫穩定。二次革命失敗後北洋軍入主，湖南淪為軍閥角力場，張敬堯等北洋系軍人相繼掌權，民不聊生。民國九年(公元1920年)「驅張運動」爆發，地方士紳與知識分子反抗軍閥專制，成功驅逐張敬堯。其後譚延闓復出推行自治，雖具理想但受限重重。至民國十五年(公元1926年)，國民革命軍陷長沙，國民黨左派聯合共產黨於湖南實施土改，本地仕紳遭清洗，湖南成為國共衝突前線之一。