This is a brass coin of Yongli Tongbao minted under the authority of the Yongli Emperor of the Southern Ming dynasty.
The coin follows the traditional square-holed round format characteristic of the Sinosphere. The inscription on the obverse reads “Yongli Tongbao” in regular script, arranged vertically from top to bottom and read from right to left. The character “Yong” (永) is structured in a form resembling “二” and “水”, taking the shape of “𣱵”. The component on the left of the character “Li” (曆) is “厂”, beneath which are two instances of the “禾” radical. The character “Tong” (通) appears slightly taller than the others; its left radical “辶” begins with a long initial stroke, while the right component “甬” begins with a “マ”-shaped stroke curving upward at the end, a feature referred to as the “duck-bill Tong” form. The character “Bao” (寶) presents the “缶” radical written as “尔”, forming the variant “寳”. The coin’s blank reverse bears no inscription or ornamentation.
Yongli Tongbao coins exist in numerous variants, with wide discrepancies in quantity and style. Due to the chaotic political situation during the late Ming and early Qing periods, the Yongli Emperor exercised little effective control over the state. Regional military commanders and warlords governed independently and oversaw coinage production within their territories, resulting in strong regional characteristics. Based on stylistic features and archaeological provenance, Yongli Tongbao coins can be categorised into five main types: (1) Guangdong issues, often with reverse inscriptions such as 定 and 國; (2) Guangxi issues, bearing reverse characters including 工, 戶, 督, 留, 粵, 輔, and 明; (3) issues from Yongzhou in Hunan, with reverses such as 工, 戶, 御, 敕, 部, 督, and 道; (4) silver-equivalent coins from Yunnan and Guizhou, bearing denominations such as 五厘, 一分, and 工; and (5) Fujian and Taiwan issues with plain reverses, some of which were minted in Nagasaki by commission from Zheng Chenggong and his father. Coinage in Guangdong and Guangxi began earliest, followed by southern Hunan, Yunnan–Guizhou, and finally Fujian–Taiwan, where minting continued the longest until AD 1683, when Zheng Keshuang surrendered to the Qing. Early issues were mostly small-denomination coins, while later examples include debased silver equivalents and nominal “two-cash” coins, with a noticeable decline in weight and metal quality over time.
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.
