This coin is inscribed Zhida tongbao and was cast under Emperor Wuzong of the Yuan dynasty, Khaishan, during the Zhida era (AD 1308–1311).
The obverse bears the inscription “至大通寶” (Zhida tongbao) in regular script, read vertically from top to bottom and right to left. The style of the inscription imitates that of the Jin dynasty’s Dading tongbao, hence it is known as the “imitation Dading type.” The characters are relatively broad, with thick and forceful strokes. The reverse is plain and uninscribed.
Faced with a fiscal crisis resulting from the over-issuance of paper currency, uncontrolled military expenditures, and rampant bureaucratic corruption, Emperor Wuzong implemented a series of financial and administrative reforms. These included consolidating fiscal authority between the Central Secretariat (Zhongshu Sheng) and the Privy Council (Shumi Yuan) to enhance centralised control over financial matters; conducting audits to eliminate redundant officials and abolish supernumerary positions to reduce salary expenditures; restricting the over-issuance of paper currency such as the Zhiyuan Baochao, attempting to withdraw old notes and issue new coinage, including the Zhida Tongbao and Dayuan Tongbao, to stabilise currency values. Additionally, reforms were enacted in the state monopolies of salt and iron, and in land taxation, targeting salt smuggling and the underreporting of landholdings by powerful elites.
Although the reforms achieved only limited success—some measures, such as restricting paper currency, were undermined by the simultaneous issuance of silver notes for revenue extraction—Wuzong’s appointment of capable and upright officials, along with his removal of the factional remnants of the former minister Sangge, laid an initial foundation for the fiscal and political revitalisation later realised during the Yuan Renzong’s Yanyou era.
