Item number: A3851

Year: AD 1433-1435

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.6 x 24.8 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 3.5 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a copper cash coin bearing the reign title Xuande Tongbao, cast during the reign of the fifth Ming emperor, the Xuande Emperor, beginning in Xuande 8 (AD 1433), in accordance with the reigning era name.

The coin conforms to the traditional square-holed round form characteristic of the Sinosphere. The obverse inscription Xuande Tongbao is written in regular script and is to be read vertically from top to bottom and horizontally from right to left. In the character tong (通), the initial dot is rendered as an angular stroke. The reverse is plain and uninscribed.

The early Ming monetary system was gradually reconstructed against the backdrop of fiscal collapse and the complete erosion of confidence in paper currency at the end of the Yuan dynasty. Its central objective was to restore state control over the issuance and circulation of money, thereby underpinning the new dynasty’s systems of taxation, military expenditure, and administrative finance. In the late Yuan period, the indiscriminate issuance of paper notes (Zhizheng notes) had resulted in severe inflation, bringing public trust in paper currency close to total collapse. After founding the dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, though fully aware of the dangers inherent in monetary disorder, nevertheless—guided by a political ideology that sought to exclude gold and silver while prioritising agriculture and restraining commerce, and constrained by the limited metallic resources and minting capacity of a newly established state—opted for a plural monetary system in which paper money served as the nominal core, supplemented by copper coinage and payments in kind. The Great Ming Treasure Notes, formally promulgated in Hongwu 8 (AD 1375), were designated as legal tender, and strict statutes were enacted to prohibit the private circulation of gold and silver, in an attempt to establish a paper currency regime underwritten by state authority rather than a metallic standard.

In practice, however, the early Ming monetary order was not a simple “paper money economy” but a highly administrative and composite system. The circulation of the Great Ming Treasure Notes depended critically on coordination with the tax regime, particularly a fiscal structure grounded in payments in kind. During the Hongwu reign, land taxes, corvée obligations, and military supplies were largely collected and disbursed in the form of grain, textiles, and other physical goods. Paper notes were primarily employed for official disbursements, commuted military payments, and nominal pricing in market transactions. Their credibility derived not from convertibility into metal but from state coercive power and fiscal arrangements. Within this framework, copper cash functioned in a subsidiary capacity, facilitating small-scale transactions and local circulation; yet owing to shortages of copper and instability in minting, it was never able to supplant paper money as the institutional core. As treasure notes continued to be overissued without effective mechanisms for withdrawal, their purchasing power declined rapidly, prompting the market to turn increasingly toward payments in kind and valuation in silver, thereby creating a growing disjunction between institutional design and economic reality.

During the Xuande period, a series of reforms in monetary, fiscal, and taxation policy were initiated. In Xuande 1 (AD 1426), restrictions on gold and silver were gradually relaxed: while reiterating formal prohibitions, the Xuande Emperor adopted more flexible measures such as fines payable in paper notes, simultaneously encouraging their use and facilitating the withdrawal of older issues. By Xuande 3 (AD 1428), over-issuance persisted and the note system became obstructed, prompting the Ming court for the first time to impose controls on the total volume of emissions. In Xuande 4 (AD 1429), the range of commercial taxes permitted to be paid in paper notes was expanded. In Xuande 8 (AD 1433), the Ministry of Works in Nanjing and the provincial administrations of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong were ordered to cast Xuande Tongbao coins. Numerous varieties are known, though their workmanship is generally regarded as inferior to that of Yongle Tongbao. Moreover, as copper materials were sourced largely from remelted old coins and scrap, the alloy quality was unstable; one recorded example consists of approximately 73.68 per cent copper, 7.36 per cent tin, and 18.23 per cent lead.

The Xuande Emperor, Zhu Zhanji, reigned from AD 1425 to 1435. He was the grandson of the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di and the son of the Hongxi Emperor Zhu Gaochi. Upon accession, he continued the lenient governance associated with his predecessor, swiftly terminating military operations in Annam and formally withdrawing troops in Xuande 2, recognising its independence in order to reduce frontier and fiscal burdens. In the north, he maintained defensive arrangements against the Oirats and Tatars, personally leading an expedition beyond the frontier in Xuande 9 and engaging Oirat forces in the Gaoling region. In domestic administration, he emphasised official discipline and the suppression of corruption, entrusting state affairs to Grand Secretaries such as Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu, thereby establishing a relatively stable decision-making structure; in response to regional disasters, he repeatedly issued edicts remitting taxes and levies. The Xuande period also marked the final maritime expedition of the Ming dynasty, with Zheng He completing his return voyage in Xuande 8. Culturally, the emperor himself excelled in calligraphy and painting, oversaw the compilation of texts, and presided over a court renowned for its achievements in painting and ceramic production, most notably the Xuande blue-and-white porcelains and bronzes produced at the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen.

物件編號: A3851

年代: 公元 1433-1435 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.6 x 24.8 x 0.9 mm

重量: 3.5 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚明朝第五任皇帝明宣宗在位期間，自宣德八年 (公元1433年)起，按照年號所鑄造的「宣德通寶」銅錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。錢面錢文楷書「宣德通寶」，自上而下，自右而左對讀。「通」字首點寫為折筆。錢幕光素無文。

明初貨幣制度是在元末財政崩潰、紙幣信用盡失的背景下逐步重建的，其核心目標在於恢復國家對貨幣發行與流通的控制，並以此支撐新王朝的賦稅、軍費與行政運作。元代後期濫發紙鈔（至正鈔）導致嚴重通貨膨脹，社會對紙幣的信任幾近瓦解。明太祖朱元璋建國後，雖深知紙幣失序之弊，卻仍基於「去金銀、尚農抑商」的政治理念，以及國家初建、金屬資源與鑄幣能力有限的現實條件，選擇以紙幣為名義主體，輔以銅錢與實物徵納的多元貨幣體系。洪武八年(公元1375年)正式推行的大明寶鈔，被定位為國家法定貨幣，並以嚴格法令禁止金銀私下流通，試圖建立一個由國家信用支撐、脫離金屬本位的紙幣制度。

然而，明初貨幣制度並非單一的「紙幣經濟」，而是一種高度行政化的複合體系。在實際運作中，大明寶鈔的流通必須依賴賦稅制度的配合，尤其是以實物繳納（物納）為基礎的財政結構。洪武年間，田賦、徭役與軍需多以糧食、布帛等實物形式徵收與支出，紙幣主要用於官府給付、軍餉折支與市場交易中的名義計價，其信用並非來自兌換金屬的保證，而是來自國家強制力與稅制安排。銅錢在此體系中扮演輔助角色，負責小額交易與地方流通，但受限於銅源不足、鑄造不穩定，始終無法取代紙幣成為制度核心。隨著寶鈔持續超發、缺乏回收機制，其購買力迅速下降，市場逐漸轉向實物與白銀計價，形成制度設計與經濟現實之間的落差。

宣德年間，開始進行一系列貨幣、財政、賦稅改革。宣德元年(公元1426年)，金銀禁漸弛，明宣宗除重申嚴禁外，另以罰鈔等較柔性的方式，一方面鼓勵使用，一方面回籠舊鈔。宣德三年(公元1428年)，發鈔仍浮濫，「鈔法阻滯」，明廷至此才開始控制發鈔總量。宣德四年(公元1429年)，擴增商稅能以鈔繳納的範圍。宣德八年(公元1433年)，令南京工部、浙江、江西、福建、廣東布政使司鼓鑄「宣德通寶」。版別較多，但難稱精整，不及「永樂通寶」。且因銅料來源於舊錢、廢棄回爐，成色不穩，一例為銅73.68%，錫7.36%，鉛18.23%。

明宣宗朱瞻基，公元1425至1435年在位，年號宣德，是明成祖朱棣之孫、明仁宗朱高熾之子。宣宗即位後，延續仁宗寬政路線，迅速停止對安南的軍事經營，於宣德二年正式撤軍，承認其獨立，以減輕邊防與財政負擔；同時在北方維持對瓦剌與韃靼的防禦體系，宣德九年親征塞外，於高嶺一帶與瓦剌交戰。內政方面，宣宗重視吏治，整頓貪污，命楊士奇、楊榮、楊溥等內閣大臣處理政務，形成較為穩定的決策結構；對地方災荒多次下詔蠲免錢糧。宣德年間最後一次下西洋，由鄭和於宣德八年完成返航。文化方面，宣宗本人擅長書畫，命人編修典籍，宮廷繪畫與瓷器製作水準甚高，以景德鎮御窯廠所燒造的宣德青花、銅器等最為著名。