Item number: A3890

Year: AD 960-976

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.9 x 25.0 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 3.15 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is the “Songyuan Tongbao” cast in the first year of Jianlong (AD 960) by Emperor Taizu of the Song, the founding sovereign of the dynasty. It constitutes the first coinage issued under the Song.

The coin conforms to the traditional round cash form with a square central perforation characteristic of the Sinosphere. The obverse inscription reads “Songyuan Tongbao” in clerical script, to be read vertically from top to bottom and from right to left. The character “Song” approximates regular script in style, while “Yuan,” “Tong,” and “Bao” follow the clerical script style of the Tang “Kaiyuan Tongbao.” The character “Tong” is comparatively narrow in form. On the right side of the reverse there appears a single straight linear mark.

Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin (r. AD 960–976), was the founding emperor of the Northern Song dynasty. Of military origin, he distinguished himself repeatedly during the reign of Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou and came to command the imperial guards. In AD 960, at Chenqiao Station, he was invested with the yellow robe in a military coup—known to history as the “Chenqiao Mutiny”—and, with the acclamation of his troops, ascended the throne, founding the Song dynasty and proclaiming the Jianlong era. After his accession, he pursued a strategy of “first the south, then the north,” gradually subduing the southern regimes and laying the foundation for the eventual unification achieved under the Northern Song.

Zhao Kuangyin recognised that the turbulence of the Five Dynasties period had stemmed from the overweening power of regional military governors and professional soldiers. He therefore adopted the policy later termed “relinquishing military power over a cup of wine,” persuading veteran commanders to surrender their commands in exchange for generous treatment. Military authority was thereby concentrated in the central government, and the civil bureaucracy strengthened. This measure established the Song political pattern of privileging civil over military authority, reducing the risk of warlord fragmentation, though it also constituted a remote cause of the dynasty’s later military weakness.

In domestic administration, he rectified official conduct, emphasised the civil service examinations, promoted scholars of humble origin, and reinforced centralised fiscal institutions. In foreign affairs, he adopted a combined strategy of offence and defence in dealing with Northern Han and the Khitan. His reign witnessed relative social stability and a gradual economic recovery, inaugurating the prosperity of the Song period. He died in AD 976 and was succeeded by his younger brother Zhao Guangyi, who reigned as Emperor Taizong of Song.

The monetary system of the Northern and Southern Song was complex. Officially circulating coinage was struck in both copper and iron, functioning in conjunction with paper currency. Silver gradually assumed increasing importance. Copper cash were issued in denominations ranging from one to ten. Different circuits cast coins according to local requirements: some employed only copper cash, others exclusively iron, and still others both. Calligraphic styles varied widely, including regular, clerical, seal, and Slender Gold script, among others.

物件編號: A3890

年代: 公元 960-976 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.9 x 25.0 x 0.7 mm

重量: 3.15 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是於建隆元年(公元960年)，宋朝開國皇帝宋太祖所鑄造的「宋元通寶」，為宋朝鑄造的第一款錢幣。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。錢面錢文隸書「宋元通寶」，自上而下，自右而左對讀。「宋」字近楷書。「元、通、寶」同唐開元通寶之隸書。「通」字較狹窄。錢幕右側有一道直紋。

宋太祖趙匡胤，為北宋開國皇帝，公元960至976年在位。其出身軍旅，後周世宗時屢立戰功，掌握禁軍實權。公元960年於陳橋驛黃袍加身，發動兵變，史稱「陳橋兵變」，在將士擁戴下即帝位，建立宋朝，改元建隆。其即位後奉行「先南後北」策略，逐步削平南方諸國，為北宋統一奠定基礎。

趙匡胤深知五代以來藩鎮跋扈、武人專權為政局動盪之源，故採取「杯酒釋兵權」之策，勸說宿將交出兵權，改以優厚待遇安置，使軍權收歸中央，強化文官體制。此舉奠定宋代重文抑武的政治格局，減少軍閥割據之患，但亦為後世軍力黯弱的遠因。

在內政方面，他整飭吏治，重視科舉，提拔寒門士人，強化中央集權與財政制度；對外則與北漢、契丹保持攻守並行的策略。其統治時期社會相對安定，經濟逐漸恢復，為宋代繁榮開啟序幕。公元976年崩逝，其弟趙光義即位，是為宋太宗。

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。