Item number: A3876

Year: 118-113 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 25.7 x 25.6 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 2.5 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This coin should be identified as a commandery and kingdom Wu Zhu issue cast by the various regional states in the early Western Han period, probably between the fifth year of the Yuanshou reign of Emperor Wu (118 BC) and the fourth year of the Yuanding reign (113 BC).

The coin conforms to the traditional round form with a square central aperture characteristic of Sinosphere. The obverse bears an outer rim but lacks an inner border. The inscription reads “wu zhu” in seal script, arranged in regular order from right to left. The character wu (五) is executed with curved strokes. In the character zhu (銖), the “metal” radical (金) is rendered with comparatively short dot strokes, while the initial stroke of the zhu (朱) component is angular and sharply folded. A single dot appears above the character wu.

On the reverse, both the outer rim and inner border are present, with the decorative contours distinctly angular. On both obverse and reverse the outer rim is higher at the exterior and lower towards the interior, while the inner border forms a sloping surface. Consequently, the aperture appears larger on the obverse and smaller on the reverse.

The Wuzhu coin was first issued in the fifth year of the Yuanshou reign of Emperor Wu (118 BC), and at that time, it was cast both by the central court and by local kingdoms and commanderies. Consequently, private and unregulated minting became widespread. In the fourth year of the Yuanding reign (113 BC), Emperor Wu centralised minting authority within the Three Offices of Shanglin Garden, standardising the coinage under the name “San Guan Wuzhu coin” (“Three Offices Wuzhu”). All other forms of coinage were abolished, and only the San Guan coinage was permitted in circulation. From the fourth year of Yuanding (113 BC) to the fifth year of Yuanshi (AD 5), successive emperors continued to implement this system with only minor modifications to the coin moulds. In total, the San Guan Wuzhu coin remained in official circulation for 123 years.

物件編號: A3876

年代: 公元前 118-113 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 25.7 x 25.6 x 0.9 mm

重量: 2.5 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

此錢應為西漢早期，列國放鑄之郡國五銖，可能於西漢武帝元狩五年(公元前118年)至元鼎四年(公元前113年)間鑄行。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。正面有外輪而無內廓。錢文為「五銖」篆書，由右向左順讀。「五」字曲筆。「銖」字「金」旁點劃較短，「朱」旁字首方折。「五」字上方有一點。錢幣背面外輪內廓俱全，紋樣稜角明顯。錢幣正背外輪外高內低，內廓成斜面，因此正面穿大，背面穿小。

五銖錢初行於漢武帝元狩五年(公元前118年)，由朝廷與各郡國分鑄，於是私鑄、濫鑄禁之不絕。元鼎四年(公元前113年)，漢武帝專鑄幣權於上林苑三官，統一形制，稱「三官五銖錢」，令天下廢此前諸錢，非三官錢不得行。自元鼎四年至元始五年(公元5年)，諸帝持續行用，僅稍作更換版模，三官五銖錢共鑄行一百二十三年。