Item number: A3417

Year: AD 1631-1637

Material: Brass

Size: 23.8 x 23.6 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 2.65 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a Chongzhen Tongbao coin, minted in the name of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty.

The coin’s form adheres to the typical style of the Chinese cultural sphere, featuring a round shape with a square hole. The central hole is relatively narrow. The obverse bears the inscription “Chongzhen Tongbao” in regular script. The characters are relatively bold, with the inscription appearing worn and blurred, exhibiting rough edges. The four characters are read from top to bottom and right to left. In the character “Zhen” (禎), the first stroke of the “礻” component is rendered as a horizontal line, known as the “horizontal dot Zhen” (臥點禎). In the character “Bao” (寶), the “缶” component is written as “尔”, resulting in the variant form “寳”. On the reverse, above the central hole, there is the character “Zhi” (制), which is relatively large in size. “Zhi” refers to an imperial edict, signifying the emperor’s command. This may serve as a commemorative mark, and given that these coins are predominantly found in Shaanxi and have been unearthed in large quantities, they were likely intended for general circulation. In the fourth year of Chongzhen (AD 1631) and the tenth year of Chongzhen (AD 1637), to provide relief for displaced persons and to pacify the “righteous armies,” the Shaanxi military region may have undertaken large-scale minting to meet expenditure demands.

In the late Ming Dynasty, financial difficulties and military funding shortages led the central government to gradually delegate minting authority to the nine border garrisons. Local minting in Shaanxi began under the Gansu and Guyuan Commissariats. Since the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (AD 1627), persistent civil unrest necessitated funds for relief, pacification, and suppression, compounded by substantial military expenditures in the border regions. In the early Chongzhen reign, Guo Yingxiang, an Assistant Director in the Ministry of Revenue overseeing grain storage for the Gansu and Guyuan garrisons, proposed exploiting copper mines in Zhenyuan, Lanzhou, and other areas in Shaanxi to mint coins to “address the crisis and support the borders”. In the third year of the Chongzhen reign (AD 1630), minting of Chongzhen Tongbao commenced. It is speculated that coins with the reverse inscription “hu” (戶) were produced at this time. The style of the inscriptions is similar to other coins excavated in Shaanxi with reverse inscriptions such as “guan” (官), “bing” (兵), “fengzhi” (奉制), “yu” (榆), and “taiping” (太平). In the fifteenth year of the Chongzhen reign (AD 1642), Li Zicheng gained control of Shaanxi, and it is likely that no further Chongzhen coins were minted thereafter.

In AD 1627 (the seventh year of the Tianqi reign), a peasant named Wang Er launched an uprising in northern Shaanxi, sparking successive rebellions that would continue until the fall of the dynasty. That same year, Hong Taiji initiated the Ning-Jin Campaign, which ultimately failed, though his forces would later repeatedly circumvent the defensive lines to raid the Chinese heartland. Beset by internal rebellion and external threats, the Ming court sharply increased taxation, introducing levies such as the Liao tribute, payment tribute, and training tribute. It also attempted to stabilise currency by reforming minting practices and issuing new coins to finance the military. During the Wanli reign (AD 1573–1620), a wide variety of ancient coins from earlier dynasties, including Tang and Song, circulated alongside new issues. It was not until the Tianqi reign that the government implemented systematic collection and destruction of old coins, replacing them with newly cast currency of markedly inferior quality. Under Chongzhen (AD 1628–1644), the policy of melting down old coins resumed, and the “Chongzhen Tongbao” was issued. Early specimens weighed as much as one qian, three fen (approximately 4.654 grams), or one qian, two fen, five li, with a conversion rate of sixty-five cash to one tael of silver. However, following the Wanli era, as cash coin quality no longer directly affected military morale or official salaries, the southern monetary system grew lax, and rampant private minting caused a devaluation such that three northern coins equalled four southern ones in value, becoming the prevailing exchange norm. In AD 1630 (Chongzhen 3), new regulations stipulated that each northern coin weigh one qian (approx. 3.58 g), and each southern coin eight fen. Officials were dispatched to copper-producing provinces to oversee direct copper extraction and minting, leading to widespread operation of mints. However, minting standards varied across provinces, and illegal casting of inferior coins remained widespread, resulting in a large and complex range of surviving varieties.

The late Ming period coincided with the Little Ice Age, during which a colder climate shifted rainfall zones southward. North China experienced repeated natural disasters, including droughts, floods, and plague. Alongside repeated incursions by the Later Jin (soon to be Qing), these crises contributed to widespread rebellion. The court urgently needed funds for disaster relief, defence, and suppression of unrest. However, entrenched corruption and administrative inertia made it difficult to raise or conserve revenue. Despite several monetary reforms, the results were counterproductive, exacerbating market instability and undermining confidence in the currency. Compounding the crisis was a dramatic contraction in the supply of foreign silver. The Tokugawa shogunate began implementing maritime restrictions from AD 1633 (Chongzhen 6), reducing transshipment of silver. In AD 1639 (Chongzhen 12), the Spanish launched renewed massacres of Chinese merchants in Luzon, interrupting Sino-Spanish trade. In AD 1641 (Chongzhen 14), the Dutch seized Portuguese Malacca, cutting off Macau’s supply of silver. As a result, the silver imported into China plummeted from over three million taels in AD 1640 to just over one million by AD 1642 (Chongzhen 15). Given that the Ming economy had, since the reign of the Wanli Emperor, depended on the Single Whip Reform and the availability of silver, this loss of supply was tantamount to running out of ammunition and provisions.

The Chongzhen Emperor, temple name Ming Sizong and posthumous title Emperor Zhuangliemin, personal name Zhu Youjian, reigned from AD 1627 to 1644, as the sixteenth and final emperor of the Ming dynasty. At the start of his reign, he sought to reform the administration and eliminate the eunuch faction, aiming to revitalise the government. However, the situation was already dire. Popular uprisings led by figures such as Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong intensified, while the Manchu state to the north grew increasingly powerful. Internally, the court was riven by factionalism. The emperor’s suspicious and impetuous temperament led him to constantly dismiss and replace ministers, resulting in inconsistent governance. Financially, the state treasury was nearly depleted, military funding was insufficient, and civil unrest escalated. In AD 1644 (Chongzhen 17), Li Zicheng’s forces captured Beijing, and the emperor hanged himself on Coal Hill. The Ming dynasty thus came to an end. Posterity has viewed the Chongzhen Emperor both as a tragic monarch who died with his state, and as an ineffectual ruler unable to preserve his realm.

物件編號: A3417

年代: 公元 1631-1637 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 23.8 x 23.6 x 0.6 mm

重量: 2.65 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚以明思宗崇禎帝之名，鑄行之崇禎通寶。

錢幣的形制為漢文化圈典型的方孔圓錢。錢穿較狹窄。錢面錢文「崇禎通寶」楷書。字體較粗，錢文漫漶，字口有毛邊。四字由上至下，由右至左對讀。「禎」字「礻」旁首點寫為一橫劃，稱「臥點禎」；「寶」字「缶」旁寫為「尔」，呈「寳」。錢幕錢穿上方有錢文「制」字，字體較大。「制」即制書，為皇帝諭命之意。或為紀事，又因其多出自陝西，且大量出土，應為正用流通錢。崇禎四年(公元1631年)與崇禎十年(公元1637年)，為賑濟流民、招撫「義軍」，陝西軍區或曾大規模鑄錢，以供花費。

明末財政困難，軍費短缺，中央逐漸下放鑄幣權至九邊軍鎮。明代陝西地方鑄幣始於甘固餉司。天啟七年(公元1627年)以來，民變遲遲未平，賑濟、綏撫、進剿都需要經費，加以邊區軍事所費不貲。崇禎初時，任戶部督理甘肅、固原兩鎮糧儲員外郎的郭應響倡利用陝西鎮虜、蘭州等地的銅礦，鑄錢以「救時裕邊」。崇禎三年(公元1630年)，始鑄崇禎通寶。今人推測背文「戶」錢便是當時所鑄。錢文風格與同樣為陝西地區出土的背文「官」、「兵」、「奉制」、「榆」、「太平」等錢均類似。崇禎十五年(公元1642年)，李自成控制陝西，大約未再鑄行崇禎錢。

天啟七年(公元1627年)，農民王二於陝北起事，此後民變不斷，直至明亡。同年，皇太極發起寧錦之戰，不果，此後多次繞過關錦寧防線，入塞劫寇。在內憂外患交逼之下，明廷大加稅賦，以三餉——遼餉、繳餉、練餉為代表。此外也多次嘗試整理錢法，鑄錢以助軍資。萬曆年間(公元1573-1620年)，行用錢雜揉前代，包括唐、宋古錢，天啟年間始盡銷古錢，更鑄新錢，品質也大大降低。崇禎年間(公元1628-1644年)復行銷古錢政策，鑄行崇禎通寶，初鑄每枚重一錢三分(約合今4.654公克)或一錢二分五厘，以六十五文折銀一錢。而由於萬曆以降，因制錢品質非關軍心與朝臣俸祿，南方錢法鬆弛，私鑄猖獗，至北錢三文可兌南錢四文，幾乎成為市例。崇禎三年(公元1630年)，改定錢制北方所鑄每文重一錢，南方所鑄每文重八分(約合今2.864公克)。同時，派遣官吏去產銅省，就地採銅鑄錢，於是錢場大開。各省鑄錢工藝參差不齊，私鑄、盜鑄劣錢更是禁之不絕，使得存世版型多元複雜。

晚明適逢小冰期，酷寒使降雨區域南移，在華北地區則出現了了連年災荒，大旱、大澇、鼠疫相繼爆發，加以後金蹂躪邊塞、華北，催生民變。亟待資費以賑災、卻敵、剿匪。而明末官場腐敗、體制僵硬，難以節流籌錢。錢法數次改革，未減其弊，卻使市場紊亂、貨幣失信。適逢海外白銀斷流，一時銀貴錢賤。德川幕府於崇禎六年(公元1933年)起數頒鎖國令，轉口白銀貿易減少、西班牙於崇禎十二年(公元1639年)，在呂宋島對華商復行屠殺，商道一時中斷、荷蘭於崇禎十四年(公元1641年)攻佔葡屬馬六甲，葡屬澳門白銀來源斷絕。數事併發，使崇禎十三年(公元1640年)前三百萬兩以上的白銀進口，至崇禎十五年(公元1642年)陡降至一百多萬兩。於神宗以降，施行一條鞭法而深賴白銀存量的明朝經濟，不啻於彈盡糧絕。

崇禎帝，廟號明思宗，諡號明莊烈愍帝，名朱由檢。於天啟七年至崇禎十七年(公元1627-1644年)在位，為明朝第十六位也是最後一位皇帝。崇禎帝即位初期致力於整飭吏治、削除宦黨，力圖振興國政，然時局已極艱難，內有李自成、張獻忠等農民起義勢力崛起，外有後金(清)日益強盛，邊患頻仍。政治上，朝廷派系紛爭不斷，崇禎帝多疑任性，頻繁更易大臣，導致決策失當。加以國庫空虛，軍費難支，民變愈發熾烈。崇禎十七年(公元1644年)，李自成攻陷北京，崇禎帝自縊於煤山，明朝遂告滅亡。後世一方面視明思宗為君主殉國的悲劇人物，另一方面也批評其為無力守住江山的昏庸君主。