Item number: A3871

Reference number: DCD#38

Year: AD 189-214

Material: Bronze

Size: 25.8 x 25.5 x 1.1 mm

Weight: 2.1 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a bronze coin known as the “Shu Wu Zhu,” cast in the late Eastern Han dynasty between AD 189 and AD 214 by Liu Yan and his son Liu Zhang, who governed the Sichuan Basin in the capacity of Governors of Yi Province.

The coin conforms to the traditional round form with a square central aperture characteristic of the Sinitic cultural sphere. Its diameter generally ranges from approximately 24 to 25.4 millimetres, and its weight from about 2.1 to 3.70 grams. On the obverse, the inscription “Wu Zhu” (Five Zhu) is positioned close to the inner rim yet detached from the outer border. The character “Wu” is relatively narrow; in the character “Zhu,” the “metal” radical is short and compressed, while the “zhu” component is comparatively elongated. The strokes of the inscription are slender and delicate. The coin typically exhibits missing corners at the left side and lower right. The reverse bears no inscription.

In the late Eastern Han period, apart from coinage issued by the central court during the reign of Emperor Ling and under the dominance of Dong Zhuo, certain regional strongmen who had seized local control also imitated the Wu Zhu type and cast their own currency. In AD 190, when Dong Zhuo coerced Emperor Xian into relocating the court westwards to Chang’an and various warlords rose in arms against him, Liu Yan, then Governor of Yi Province, harboured ambitions of proclaiming himself emperor. The Shu Wu Zhu was likely first cast at this time. In AD 194, during the first year of the Xingping era, Liu Yan died and was succeeded by his son Liu Zhang as Governor. Owing to its rugged terrain, the Sichuan Basin was comparatively less affected by warfare, enabling Liu Zhang and his father before him to produce coinage of relatively stable quality.

In AD 214, confronted by the neighbouring threat of Zhang Lu, Liu Zhang invited Liu Bei to suppress the disturbance. Liu Bei, however, seized the opportunity to occupy Yi Province and even permitted his troops to plunder Chengdu in order to bolster morale. Thereafter, Yi Province became the power base of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. To finance his rivalry with Eastern Wu and Cao Wei, Liu Bei issued large quantities of fiduciary high-denomination coins, thereby extracting wealth from the populace.

After Liu Bei’s death, Zhuge Liang, the regent who assisted the Later Lord and was highly esteemed in the historical record, issued the “Taiping Bai Qian,” weighing less than one gram, in order to raise military funds. At that time, the entire population of Shu Han numbered only about 940,000, yet it bore the heavy burden of maintaining 40,000 officials and an army of 100,000 troops. Ultimately, in AD 263, Shu Han, the weakest of the three rival states, was annexed by Cao Wei and passed into history.

物件編號: A3871

參考書目編號: DCD#38

年代: 公元 189-214 年

材料: 青銅

尺寸: 25.8 x 25.5 x 1.1 mm

重量: 2.1 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚東漢末年，於中平六年至建安十九年(公元189至214年)間，以益州牧身分統治四川盆地的劉焉、劉璋父子鑄造之「蜀五銖」銅錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。錢徑多約24至25.4釐米，重量落在2.1至3.70克左右。正面的錢文「五銖」接郭離輪，「五」字狹窄，「銖」字「金」旁狹短，「朱」旁較長。文字字畫纖細。錢幣左側及右下缺角。背面則沒有任何錢文。

東漢末年，中央朝廷在漢靈帝和董卓攬權時曾鑄造貨幣外，些許佔據地方的豪強亦有自行仿效五銖錢型制鑄幣。益州牧劉焉便於董卓挾制獻帝西遷長安，諸侯起兵討罰之際(公元190年)，欲稱帝自立。蜀五銖應於此時始鑄。興平元年(公元194年)，劉焉逝，子劉璋繼州牧。地勢險峻的四川盆地受到戰火波及較少，故盤據於此的劉璋父子尚能鑄造品質穩定的貨幣。

公元214年，劉璋面對比鄰的張魯威脅下邀請劉備平叛，劉備卻趁勢佔據益州，甚至縱容士兵搶劫成都以鼓舞士氣。自此益州成為三國時期蜀漢的根據地，劉備為籌得跟東吳和曹魏競爭的軍費，於當地發行大量的虛值大錢掠奪民間財物。

劉備死後，輔佐後主並在史書備受讚譽的顧命大臣諸葛亮，發行重量僅不到1克的「太平百錢」籌措軍費。彼時蜀漢全國僅有九十四萬人，卻要負擔官吏四萬人和十萬大軍的沉重負擔。最終公元263年，實力最為弱小的蜀漢被曹魏併吞走入歷史。