Item number: A3852

Year: AD 1644-1645

Material: Brass

Size: 23.9 x 23.9 x 0.8 mm

Weight: 3.3 g

Manufactured by: Mint of Xi’an

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a brass Yongchang Tongbao coin cast by the Dashun regime established by Li Zicheng, the late-Ming rebel leader known as the “Chuang King”.

The obverse bears the four-character inscription Yongchang Tongbao, read in paired sequence, with calligraphy combining elements of regular and clerical scripts. Both faces are furnished with an outer rim and an inner square border: the outer rim is broad, while the inner border is relatively narrow; the reverse is plain and uninscribed, with a comparatively wide inner border. The character yong (永) is written in the so-called “two-water” form, a deliberate alteration generally interpreted as reflecting Li Zicheng’s invocation of the theory of the mutual succession of the Five Phases, whereby the Dashun regime, associated with the virtue of Water, was proclaimed to supersede the Ming dynasty’s virtue of Fire. This modified form of the character is also the most commonly encountered in contemporary inscriptions, coin legends, and other surviving artefacts associated with the regime.

Owing to the continual movement of Li Zicheng’s regime, the principal minting locations are generally identified as Xi’an, Shanxi, Beijing, and Xiangyang. Given the repeated reversals and rapid collapse of the Dashun polity, the standards and patterns of coin casting are notably diverse. In modern Chinese numismatic scholarship, these issues are typically classified into more than ten varieties: by denomination, into xiaoping (standard small cash) and zhewu (nominally five-cash); by structure, into standard types, detached-rim large types, and small types; and by calligraphic form, into such categories as “two-water yong”, dotted yong, slanted-water strokes, narrow chang, square-headed tong, elongated tong, double-dotted tong, variant-foot bao, joined-foot bao, downward-slanting bao, elongated characters, and small characters. In general terms, the coinage of the Dashun regime—whether in structure, weight, dimensions, or overall style—largely follows late-Ming models, with particularly close imitation of coinage issued during the Chongzhen reign.

In the first month of the 16th year of Chongzhen’s reign (AD January 1643), Li Zicheng proclaimed himself Xinshun Wang (新順王, King of New Shun) in Xiangyang and sought to pacify and resettle displaced populations. In the first month of the following year (AD January 1644), he declared himself emperor in Xi’an, establishing the Dashun (大順, Great Shun) regime and adopting the era name Yongchang (永昌). In March of the same year, Li Zicheng entered the Forbidden City, prompting Emperor Chongzhen to commit suicide on Coal Hill (Jingshan) in Beijing, marking the fall of the Ming dynasty in what became known as the Jia Shen Incident (甲申之變).

Shortly thereafter, Wu Sangui, a Ming general, allied with the Qing forces and opened the Shanhai Pass, leading to the joint destruction of Li Zicheng’s army. In AD April 1644, Li personally led his forces against Wu Sangui, but at the Battle of Yipaishi (一片石之戰), the combined Qing and Wu forces decisively defeated the Dashun army. Following a series of subsequent defeats, Li Zicheng’s forces collapsed. In the summer of AD 1645, during a retreat through Hubei, Li Zicheng was killed, and his remaining troops ultimately surrendered to the Southern Ming regime.

物件編號: A3852

年代: 公元 1644-1645 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 23.9 x 23.9 x 0.8 mm

重量: 3.3 g

製造地: 西安

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚明末「闖王」李自成之大順政權所鑄，黃銅質「永昌通寶」。

銅幣的正面為「永昌通寶」四字對讀，筆法楷隸兼具。兩面外輪內廓均有，外輪寬而方廓窄，背光素無文，內廓較寬。永字寫法為「二水」，應為李自成據五德終始說，宣稱當以大順水德代大明火德，因而改變筆劃，該寫法也在碑記、錢文等遺物中最為普遍。

李自成之鑄幣地點因其政權的移動主要有西安、山西、北京、襄陽四處，因其政權反覆而速亡，鑄幣模範也十分多變。於當代中國錢幣學中，大約可分為十數品，依面額可分為小平錢、折五，依結構分為正樣、離郭大樣、小樣，依字形分為二水永、點永、斜水、狹昌、方頭通、長通、雙點通、異足寶、並足寶、俯寶、長字、小字等。大致上，大順政權之鑄幣，其形制如結構、重量，尺寸、風格等仍多模仿明末，尤其是崇禎鑄幣。

崇禎十六年(公元1643年)正月，李自成在襄陽稱「新順王」，招撫流民。崇禎十七年(公元1644年)正月，李自成在西安稱帝，國號大順，改元永昌。同年三月，李自成入紫禁城，崇禎帝自縊於北京煤山，是為甲申之變，明朝滅亡。吳三桂引清兵入關，合殲闖軍。公元1644年四月，李自成親征吳三桂，於一片石之戰中，清軍和山海關吳三桂軍擊敗大順軍，此後大順屢戰屢敗。公元1645年夏，李自成於湖北敗退時身亡，餘部降南明。