Item number: A3884

Year: AD 976-984

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.9 x 23.8 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 2.95 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This coin was issued at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Taizong, the second emperor of the Northern Song dynasty, and was named after his first reign title, Taiping Xingguo. Inscribed “Taiping tongbao”, it represents the first reign-title coinage of the Song dynasty. During his twenty-one-year reign, Emperor Taizong employed a total of five reign titles.

The coin conforms to the traditional round form with a square central aperture characteristic of the Han cultural sphere. The obverse inscription, “太平通寶” (Taiping tongbao), is rendered in clerical script, arranged vertically from top to bottom and read in paired sequence from right to left. The characters are relatively small, with the character ping notably narrow in proportion. The reverse field is plain and uninscribed.

Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, younger brother of Emperor Taizu, reigned from AD 976 to AD 997. His accession was later surrounded by speculation arising from the so-called “axe-shadow and candlelight” incident, though no conclusive historical evidence substantiates such claims. Taizong inherited the unification enterprise initiated by his brother and sought to complete the consolidation of the realm. In AD 979 he personally led a campaign against the Northern Han and extinguished it, thereby largely completing the unification of the Central Plains. In the same year he advanced northwards against the Liao dynasty in an attempt to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun; however, defeat at the Battle of Gaoliang River established a prolonged confrontation between Song and Liao.

During the Taiping Xingguo era, Taizong ordered the casting of “Taiping tongbao” coins, inaugurating the Song dynasty’s practice of issuing reign-title coinage. Nevertheless, the older coinage of the recently annexed states continued in circulation for some time. During the Chunhua era, coins inscribed “Chunhua yuanbao” were cast; these constituted the first imperial-autograph coinage personally written by the emperor.

The monetary system of the Northern and Southern Song dynasties was complex. Copper and iron were both employed as official coinage materials, supplemented by the circulation of paper currency. Silver gradually assumed increasing importance in monetary transactions. Copper cash were issued in denominations ranging from one to ten units in accounting value. Different circuits minted coinage according to regional needs: some areas utilised exclusively copper coinage, others iron coinage, while some employed both concurrently. Calligraphic styles varied widely, including regular script, clerical script, seal script, and the Slender Gold style, among others.

物件編號: A3884

年代: 公元 976-984 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.9 x 23.8 x 0.9 mm

重量: 2.95 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是北宋的第二任皇帝宋太宗登基之初，以其第一個年號「太平興國」命名鑄造的「太平通寶」，為宋朝第一種年號錢。宋太宗統治的21年間，前後使用過五個年號。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。錢面錢文隸書「太平通寶」，自上而下，自右而左對讀。字體較小，「平」字較狹窄。錢幕光素無文。

宋太宗趙光義，為宋太祖之弟，公元976至997年在位。他的繼位因「燭影斧聲」之說而備受後世議論，但史無確證。太宗承繼太祖統一大業，致力完成全國整合。公元979年親征北漢，滅之，基本完成中原統一；同年乘勢北伐遼朝，意圖收復燕雲十六州，然高梁河之戰失利，宋遼對峙局面由此確立。

宋太宗則於太平興國年間鑄行太平通寶，為宋代首鑄年號錢。但在此期間，甫納入版圖的諸國舊錢仍因循流通。淳化年間鑄淳化元寶，為首個天子御書錢。

兩宋幣制複雜，正式行用的幣材便有銅鐵兩種，配合紙幣相權。白銀則逐漸佔有重要地位。銅幣面額折一至折十不等。各路依需求各自鑄錢，有些只用銅錢，有些只用鐵錢，有些銅鐵兼用。字體則楷書、隸書、篆書、瘦金體等不一而足。