Item number: A3338

Year: AD 1646-1683

Material: Brass

Size: 22.6 x 22.6 mm

Weight: 4.1 g

Provenance:

1. Spink 2023

2. Dr. Werner Klaus Burger Collection

This is a brass coin known as Yongli Tongbao, minted during the reign of the Yongli Emperor of the Southern Ming dynasty.

The coin follows the traditional form of Chinese currency within the Sinosphere—a round coin with a square central hole. The obverse features the inscription Yongli Tongbao written in regular script (kaishu). The four characters are read vertically from top to bottom, then horizontally from right to left. The structure of the character Yong (永) resembles a combination of “two” (二) and “water” (水), forming the variant “𣱵”. The vertical stroke “亅” in the centre connects to both lateral “冫” strokes, a form known as central-joined water Yong (中接水永). However, the left stroke is broken, a feature not recorded in previous typologies. The strokes are finer, the character form broader, and the top component “亠” is relatively short, a variant referred to as fine-stroked, narrow-topped Yong (細水上窄永). In the character Li (曆), the radical “厂” appears above two “禾” components. The character Tong (通) displays a “甬” radical beginning with “マ” rendered as “コ”, a form known as square-headed Tong (方頭通). The character Bao (寶) has the “缶” radical written as “尔”, and the “辶” component includes two dots instead of the standard one. On the reverse side, above the central hole, appears the character Guo (國). The precise meaning of this inscription remains to be determined.

Yongli Tongbao coins exist in numerous varieties, with wide variation in both form and quantity. Amidst the turmoil of the late Ming and early Qing period, the Yongli Emperor had little effective control over political affairs; most regional authorities, including military leaders and warlords, exercised de facto autonomy, including the minting of coins. As a result, these coins exhibit strong regional characteristics. Based on style and archaeological provenance, the coins are generally categorised into five types: (1) those from Guangdong, often bearing the reverse characters 定 or 國; (2) those from Guangxi, with reverses such as 工, 戶, 督, 留, 粵, 輔, and 明; (3) those from Yongzhou in Hunan, bearing 工, 戶, 御, 敕, 部, 督, or 道; (4) fractional silver-equivalent coins from Yunnan and Guizhou, bearing marks such as 五厘, 一分, or 工; and (5) plain-reverse coins from Fujian and Taiwan, some of which were reportedly commissioned by Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) and his father, and minted in Nagasaki, Japan. The earliest coinage began in Guangdong and Guangxi, followed by southern Hunan, Yunnan-Guizhou, and finally Fujian-Taiwan, where production ceased only in AD 1683 upon Zheng Keshuang’s surrender to the Qing. Early issues were predominantly small denomination cash coins, while later examples include debased silver-equivalent and nominal “two-cash” coins, with a progressive decline in both weight and metal quality.

Coins bearing the reverse characters 國 and 定 share stylistic similarities and are found in overlapping regions. Early numismatic catalogues classified them among the so-called “Imperial Edict Coins” (chì wén qián 敕文錢). During the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, numismatist Weng Shupei, in his Guquan Huikao (Collected Studies on Ancient Coins), selected twelve reverse characters from Yongli Tongbao coins—御、敕、督、部、道、府、留、粵、輔、明、定、國—and interpreted them as a directive from the Yongli Emperor to his civil and military officials to defend Guangdong and Guangxi, support the Southern Ming regime, and stabilise the nation. Another interpretation links 定 and 國 to the Southern Ming general Li Dingguo, a former subordinate of the Great Western regime, suggesting these coins may have been cast under his authority in Guangxi. An alternative theory proposes that coins bearing the character 國 were minted by Zheng Chenggong, referring to his title “Guoxingye” (Lord of the Imperial Surname), bestowed during the Longwu reign of the Southern Ming (AD 1645–1646), when he was granted the imperial surname Zhu and appointed “Grand General for the Suppression of Rebellion” (Zhaotao Dajiangjun).

Li Dingguo, originally a general under Zhang Xianzhong during the late Ming period, later pledged allegiance to the Southern Ming and became a prominent anti-Qing military commander. Alongside Zheng Chenggong and Sun Kewang, he was regarded as one of the three main pillars of the Southern Ming resistance. Known for his military prowess, Li was hailed in his time as “a match for ten thousand men.” After the Yongli Emperor ascended the throne, Li remained loyal to the Southern Ming and formed a strategic alliance with Sun Kewang to oppose the Qing. In AD 1652, he achieved a major victory over Wu Sangui in Guizhou, temporarily recapturing Guangxi and Guizhou and greatly boosting morale. However, internal strife later emerged due to deteriorating relations with Sun, weakening the broader resistance. In AD 1654, Li launched another campaign into Guangdong but failed to reverse the decline, ultimately retreating to the Yunnan–Guizhou region. In AD 1658, as Qing forces advanced into Yunnan, he escorted the Yongli Emperor into Burma. Following the emperor’s capture and execution by the Qing in AD 1662, Li Dingguo died in Burma, reportedly from grief, at the age of 42.

Zheng Chenggong (AD 1624–1662), born Zheng Sen in Hirado, Japan, was the son of the prominent maritime merchant and military figure Zheng Zhilong and his Japanese wife Tagawa. Raised with a Confucian education, he studied in Nanjing during the Chongzhen reign and was later granted the imperial surname Zhu by the Longwu regime of the Southern Ming, hence widely known as Guoxingye (Lord of the Imperial Surname). After the Qing conquest of Jiangnan in AD 1645, Zheng led a naval resistance from his bases in Xiamen and Kinmen, establishing a formidable maritime force that became the principal military support of the Southern Ming. In AD 1661, he launched an expedition against Dutch colonial forces in Taiwan. After nine months of siege warfare, he compelled the Dutch East India Company to surrender in AD 1662, thereby reclaiming Taiwan and establishing the city of Chengtianfu (modern Tainan) as the capital of his regime. He died the same year in Taiwan, aged 39.

The Yongli Emperor, personal name Zhu Youlang, reigned from AD 1646 to 1662. A great-grandson of the Wanli Emperor, he was the final sovereign of the Southern Ming. In AD 1644, rebel leader Li Zicheng captured Beijing, resulting in the collapse of the Ming central government. Surviving Ming loyalists established the Hongguang regime in Nanjing, continuing the dynasty in what is known as the Southern Ming. After the capture and execution of the Hongguang Emperor in AD 1645, various Ming princes—including the Princes of Lu, Tang, Rui, Jingjiang, and others—proclaimed regencies, ruling autonomously. The Prince of Tang later declared himself the Longwu Emperor, while the Prince of Gui, Zhu Youlang, was proclaimed emperor in Zhaoqing, adopting the reign title Yongli. Amid continued Qing advances, the Yongli regime was forced into successive retreats, ultimately confined to the Yunnan–Guizhou region. Its survival depended largely on military commanders such as Zheng Chenggong, Li Dingguo, and Sun Kewang. However, internal factionalism—particularly between Li and Sun—critically undermined the resistance. In AD 1658, the Qing court dispatched Wu Sangui to lead a campaign into Yunnan, prompting the Yongli Emperor to flee to Burma and seek asylum from the Toungoo dynasty. In AD 1662, under pressure from the Qing, the Burmese king surrendered him, and he was executed by strangulation in Kunming at the age of 39, marking the final end of the Ming dynasty.

物件編號: A3338

年代: 公元 1646-1683 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 22.6 x 22.6 mm

重量: 4.1 g

來源:

1. 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

2. 布威納博士舊藏

這是南明永曆帝所鑄行之「永曆通寶」銅錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。錢面錢文「永曆通寶」楷書。四字由上至下，由右至左對讀。「永」字結構寫似「二、水」，呈「𣱵」，「亅」部與兩側「冫」相接，稱「中接水永」，惟左側斷筆，前譜無載，筆畫較細，字體較寬，「亠」旁較短，稱「細水上窄永」；「曆」字「厂」旁下為二「禾」；「通」字「甬」旁字首「マ」寫為「コ」，稱「方頭通」；「寶」字「缶」旁寫為「尔」，「辶」旁點劃增為二點。錢幕錢穿上方有錢文「國」，含意待考。

永曆通寶的版別繁雜，存世量多寡不一。因為在明末清初的混亂時局下，永曆皇帝缺乏對於政局的實際掌握，多由實質控制地方的將領、軍閥自行統治和鑄幣，因此有強烈的地域性。永曆通寶依風格和出土區域劃分，大致為五類：一為廣東，多背「定、國」；二為廣西，有背「工、戶、督、留、粵、輔、明」者；三為湖南永州，有背「工、戶、御、敕、部、督、道」者；四為雲貴折銀錢，有背「五厘、一分、工」者；五為閩台，為光背者，有些由鄭成功父子委日本長崎所鑄。粵、桂鑄行最早，湘南、雲貴、閩臺在後，閩臺停鑄最晚，直到公元1683年鄭克塽降清。早期多為小平錢，後期多折銀錢、虛值折二錢，重量與銅質也不斷降低。

永曆通寶背國者與背定者風格類似，出土地域亦相近。錢譜最早將其列入「敕文錢」之一。清乾隆年間，翁樹培於《古泉匯考》將永曆通寶背文錢取十二字，列為「御敕督部道府，留粵輔明定國」，大約意為「永曆皇帝敕令各級文武官員，留守廣東廣西，輔佐大明(南明)，安定國家。」後另有一說指「定、國」為南明將領，前大西殘部李定國之意。又或「定、國」錢皆為李定國於廣西時所鑄。還有一說稱背國字錢為鄭成功所鑄，取南明隆武光年間(公元1645-1646年)鄭成功得賜帝姓朱，後封「招討大將軍國姓」，世稱「國姓爺」。

李定國，原為明末張獻忠麾下將領，後歸順南明，成為抗清名將，與鄭成功、孫可望並列為南明三大支柱人物。李定國軍事才能出眾，時人譽為「萬人敵」。永曆帝即位後，他效忠南明後，與孫可望聯手對抗清軍，曾於公元1652年在貴州擊潰吳三桂，收復廣西、貴州等地，聲勢一度大振。然而，隨著與孫可望關係惡化，內訌漸起，削弱抗清力量。公元1654年，李定國再次出征廣東，但未能挽回頹勢，後退守雲貴；公元1658年清軍進攻雲南，他護送永曆帝退入緬甸，公元1662年，永曆帝被清軍俘殺，李定國悲憤病逝於緬甸，終年42歲。

鄭成功，公元1624-1662，本名鄭森，生於日本平戶，其父為著名海商與軍事強人鄭芝龍，母為日本女子田川氏。鄭成功自幼受儒家教育，崇禎年間赴南京求學，後於南明隆武政權獲賜國姓朱。公元1645年清軍南下後，他在東南沿海起兵抗清，以廈門、金門為據點，建立強大的海上武裝勢力，成為南明最重要的軍事支柱之一。公元1661年，鄭成功發兵攻打荷蘭統治下的臺灣，歷經九個月戰鬥，迫使荷蘭東印度公司於公元1662年投降，成功收復臺灣，設承天府於臺南，作為抗清復明的根據地。同年於臺灣病逝，終年39歲。

永曆帝，名朱由榔，公元1646至1662年在位，為明神宗朱翊鈞之曾孫，是南明最後一位皇帝。公元1644年，闖王李自成陷北京，明廷崩潰。餘部集於南京立弘光帝，續祚大明，史稱南明。公元1645年，弘光帝被俘殺。潞王、太子、益王、唐王、魯王、靖江王先後建立監國政權，各自為政。唐王後稱隆武帝，桂王朱由榔則在肇慶被擁立為帝，年號「永曆」，除抗清外，彼此更攻伐不斷。其統治期間，南明政權不斷西遷，勢力逐漸退縮至雲貴地區，主要依賴鄭成功、李定國、孫可望等抗清將領支撐。然而政權內部派系爭鬥激烈，尤其以李、孫二人之爭最為嚴重，嚴重削弱了抗清能力。公元1658年，清廷命吳三桂率軍入雲南，永曆帝逃入緬甸，向東吁王朝尋求庇護，公元1662年，清軍逼迫緬王交出永曆帝，遂被押解至昆明絞殺，時年39歲，明朝至此滅亡。