Item number: A3798

Year: AD 917

Material: Bronze

Size: 22.4 x 22.1 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 2.25 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a bronze Tianhan Yuanbao coin cast by Wang Jian, the founder of the Former Shu regime, which was based in Sichuan during the period of regional fragmentation known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms following the collapse of the Tang dynasty. The coin was issued under Wang Jian’s fifth reign title, Tianhan, used in AD 917.

The coin conforms to the traditional square-holed round form of the Han cultural sphere. The obverse inscription, Dahan Yuanbao, is rendered in a hybrid of regular and clerical scripts; the clerical form of the character yuan is particularly close to that seen on Tang Kaiyuan Tongbao coins. The reverse is plain and uninscribed. The type corresponds in layout to the plain-reverse variant of the Tianhan Yuanbao, but the character tian appears to have been re-engraved, with the initial horizontal stroke removed to form the character da. File marks are visible on the left side of the outer rim and at the lower left.

During his rule over Sichuan, Wang Jian employed a total of six reign titles. In the early years of his regime, under the reigns of Tianfu (AD 901–907) and Wucheng (AD 908–910), no coinage was issued. It was not until the Yongping reign (AD 911) that coins corresponding to the reign title were first cast.

The Former Shu was a regime established by Wang Jian amid the turmoil at the end of the Tang dynasty, with Sichuan as its territorial base. Wang Jian rose from humble origins as a local ruffian and salt smuggler; taking advantage of the Huang Chao Rebellion, he joined the military and gradually gained control over the Sichuan Basin centred on Chengdu. In AD 907, dissatisfied with the domination of the Tang imperial house by Zhu Wen, Wang Jian declared himself king. During his reign, he refrained from initiating warfare and invested heavily in hydraulic works, enabling the population of Sichuan to live in relative stability and security. After his death, however, his successor Wang Yan proved dissolute and ineffectual, and the regime was invaded by the Later Tang. In AD 925, the Former Shu was annexed by the Later Tang, bringing an end to a state that had existed for only nineteen years.

物件編號: A3798

年代: 公元 917 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 22.4 x 22.1 x 0.7 mm

重量: 2.25 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是唐朝滅亡的五代十國豪強割據之際，以四川為根據地的前蜀開創者王建，以公元917年使用的第五個年號鑄造之「天漢元寶」青銅錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面錢文為楷隸相參的「大漢元寶」，隸書「元」字尤近唐開元通寶。錢幕光素無文。版式同天漢元寶光背版，但「天」字疑遭改刀，削去「天」字首橫，呈「大」。外輪左側及左下有銼痕。

王建統治四川期間，先後使用過六個年號，其建國初期的天復(公元901至907年)和武成(公元908至910年)年間並未鑄造錢幣，直到永平(公元911年)年間方才依照年號鑄造對應的錢幣。

前蜀為王建在唐朝末年的混亂之際，以四川作為根據地建立的政權。王建出身於無賴和鹽梟，趁著黃巢之亂投身於行伍之中，並且逐漸控制起以成都為中心的四川盆地。公元907年，王建不滿挾持唐皇室的朱溫擺布自立稱王，其在位期間不發動戰事和大興水利，使得四川一地的百姓得以安養生息。然而王建死後，繼位的王衍荒淫無道並且遭到後唐的入侵，最終前蜀於公元925年遭到後唐併吞，立國僅19年。