Item number: A3844

Year: AD 1310-1311

Material: Bronze

Size: 22.0 x 22.1 x 1.2 mm

Weight: 3.35 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

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 “Zhida Tongbao” in regular script. The four characters are arranged vertically and read from top to bottom and from right to left. In the character tong (通), the radical conventionally written as ma (マ) is rendered in the form of ko (コ), a variant known as the “square-headed tong.” The reverse is plain and uninscribed. The obverse surface exhibits incisions arranged in an approximately radial pattern; these may have been intended for apotropaic purposes, or alternatively may represent marks left by binding with iron wire for ease of securing the coin.

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.

物件編號: A3844

年代: 公元 1310-1311 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 22.0 x 22.1 x 1.2 mm

重量: 3.35 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

此錢為「至大通寶」。由元武宗海山於至大年間(公元1308-1311年)鑄造。

錢面錢文「至大通寶」楷書。四字由上至下、由右至左對讀。「通」字「マ」旁寫為「コ」旁，稱「方頭通」。錢背則光素無文。錢面上出現大體呈放射線排布的刻痕，可能為厭勝之用，或是為以鐵線捆紮，方便固定，所留下的痕跡。

面對元朝因濫發紙幣、軍費失控與官吏貪污所造成的財政危機，元武宗推動了一系列整頓措施。其主要改革包括整合中書省與樞密院的財政權力，強化中央對財政的統一管理；同時清查冗官與濫賞，裁撤無實職之官員以減少俸祿支出；限制至元寶鈔等紙幣的濫發，試圖回收舊鈔，發行新幣如至大通寶、大元通寶以穩定幣值；並整頓鹽鐵專賣制度與田賦徵收，嚴查盜鹽與豪強漏報土地等情況。雖然改革成效有限，部分措施流於表面，如限制寶鈔，卻另行銀鈔以聚斂。且武宗本人好酒色、改革決心不強，但其任命的廉能官員及清除權臣桑哥舊黨的行動，為後來元仁宗延祐年間的財政與政治中興奠定了初步基礎。