Item number: A3692

Reference number: Zhou&Li2018#HUN.54

Year: AD 1912

Material: Copper

Size: 28.5 x 28.5 x 1.5 mm

Weight: 7.3 g

Manufactured by: Changsha Mint

Provenance: Spink 2023

This copper coin was issued in AD 1912, following the establishment of the Republic of China, by the Changsha Mint, which had resumed operations under a new name after the restoration of the former Provincial Silver Bureau. It bears the denomination of Ten Cash.

The obverse features, at its centre, the “Iron and Blood Eighteen-Star Flag,” which originated from the banner adopted by the Hubei National Military Government during the Wuchang Uprising. The actual flag consisted of three colours: red, yellow, and black. The red field and the nine black points symbolised “blood” and “iron,” representing the revolutionary principle of iron-and-blood nationalism. The nine black points corresponded to the nine ancient provinces—Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, Yang, Jing, Yu, Liang, and Yong—as recorded in the Tribute of Yu. Within and outside these nine points were two concentric circles containing a total of eighteen stars, signifying the eighteen Han-Chinese provinces within the Great Wall. The stars were golden yellow, symbolising the Han descendants of the legendary emperors Yan and Huang, in opposition to the Manchu Qing dynasty. In contrast to other varieties, the circle at the centre of the eighteen stars on this coin is hollow, and the star rays are outlined; this is known as the “outlined-star” type (you xian ban). The central design is enclosed by a beaded circle. Around the outer margin, the legend “HU-NAN” appears above, and “TEN CASH” below, denoting the coin’s origin and value. The two inscriptions are separated on each side by a five-petalled floral ornament. The edge bears fine square denticles, called “horse-teeth,” which serve both to protect the design and as an anti-counterfeiting device.

The reverse bears, in the centre, the inscription “Hunan Tong Yuan” (Hunan Copper Coin) in regular script, read from top to bottom and right to left. In the centre of the four characters is a large six-petalled floral ornament, known as the “large-flower” type. A beaded circle surrounds the central field. Outside it, the upper arc carries the inscription “Zhonghua Minguo” (Republic of China) in regular script, and the lower arc reads “Dang Shi” (Value Ten). The two legends are similarly separated on each side by a five-petalled floral motif. The edge again displays fine square denticles.

The Hunan Mint was originally established in the 24th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1898) and operated intermittently until it ceased production in the first year of the Xuantong reign (AD 1909). In the first year of the Republic (AD 1912), it resumed minting, initially producing the “Hunan Copper Coin—Value Ten” with the Eighteen-Star design, and soon thereafter large issues of Jiahe (Rice-Ear) type ten-cash coins. During the First World War, copper became a strategic material for munitions, electrical wiring, and shipbuilding, causing its price to soar. To offset losses, mints across China began issuing inflated high-denomination copper coins of twenty cash and above. After the war, when copper prices suddenly fell, the profit margin on minting copper coins greatly increased.

In early AD 1918 (the seventh year of the Republic), Zhang Jingyao entered Hunan as both military governor and provincial governor, ostensibly to suppress the Constitution Protection Movement led by Sun Yat-sen in the south. In AD 1919, Zhang expanded the Hunan Mint, issuing twenty-cash coins (then called “double copper coins,” to distinguish them from the ten-cash “single copper coins”) and circulating excessive quantities of paper notes to amass revenue. The twenty-cash coins were produced in vast numbers, with inferior copper and crude workmanship. When circulated outside Hunan, they were accepted at only half value, equivalent to ten cash, in several provinces.

From AD 1919 onwards, the national overproduction of copper coins led the central government to issue repeated prohibitions against further minting, which many provinces ignored. Later, the central authorities restricted Hunan’s coinage by prohibiting the import of copper. The Hunan Provincial Assembly also passed a resolution setting a deadline to cease production. Ultimately, when the copper supply was exhausted in AD 1925 (the fourteenth year of the Republic), the mint machinery was shut down and placed under the custody of the Provincial Finance Department.

In the early Republican period, Hunan’s political situation was turbulent, with frequent changes of military control. Initially, Governor Tan Yankai advocated constitutional reform and governance, bringing a brief period of stability. After the failure of the Second Revolution, Beiyang forces occupied the province, and Hunan became a battleground of competing warlords. Beiyang generals such as Zhang Jingyao successively seized power, plunging the populace into misery. In AD 1920, the “Expel Zhang Movement” broke out, as local gentry and intellectuals rose against warlord despotism and successfully drove Zhang from Hunan. Tan Yankai subsequently returned to promote provincial self-government; although well-intentioned, his efforts met with many obstacles. By AD 1926, the National Revolutionary Army captured Changsha, and the left wing of the Kuomintang, in alliance with the Communist Party, implemented land reform in Hunan. Local gentry were purged, and the province became one of the front lines of the ensuing conflict between the Nationalists and the Communists.

物件編號: A3692

參考書目編號: Zhou&Li2018#HUN.54

年代: 公元 1912 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 28.5 x 28.5 x 1.5 mm

重量: 7.3 g

製造地: 長沙造幣廠

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

此枚銅幣為民國成立（公元1912年），恢復舊銀元局更名長沙造幣廠所發的「當十銅元」。

銅幣的正面中央為鐵血十八星旗，源於武昌起義湖北國民軍政府宣告成立時使用的旗幟。實際旗幟由紅、黃、黑三色組成：紅底與黑九角象徵「血」與「鐵」，即革命須抱鐵血主義；黑九角代表《禹貢》中記載的冀、兗、青、徐、揚、荊、豫、梁、雍九州；黑九角內外兩圈各九顆共十八顆圓星，代表關內漢族的十八行省；星呈金黃色，表示與清朝對立之漢族炎黃子孫。有別於其他版式，十八星中央之圓為空心，星芒有輪廓，稱「有線」版。以環繞的珠圈相隔，外側上方環列英文「HU-NAN」，下方環列「TEN CASH」，意即湖南十文，兩行幣銘間，兩側各以五瓣花圖樣相隔。幣緣有細方齒紋，稱「馬齒」，用作保護幣圖及防偽。

銅幣的背面中央為楷書「湖南銅元」，由上至下，由右至左對讀。四字中央為六瓣花飾，花飾較大，稱「大花」。以環繞的珠圈相隔，外側上方環列楷書「中華民國」，下方環列「當十」，兩行幣銘間，兩側各以五瓣花圖樣相隔。幣緣有細方齒紋。

銅幣的背面中央為楷書「湖南銅元」，由上至下，由右至左對讀。四字中央為六瓣花飾，花飾較大，稱「大花」。以環繞的珠圈相隔，外側上方環列楷書「中華民國」，下方環列「當十」，兩行幣銘間，兩側各以五瓣花圖樣相隔。幣緣有細方齒紋。

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。