Item number: A3905

Year: AD 1039-1885

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.1 x 24.0 x 1.1 mm

Weight: 3.4 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a “Songyuan Tongbao”, bearing the same coin name as the “Songyuan Tongbao” that was the first coinage cast in the first year of the Jianlong era (AD 960) under Emperor Taizu, the founding ruler of the Song dynasty.

The coin conforms to the square-holed round cash type traditional to the Sinosphere. The obverse legend reads “Song Yuan Tong Bao”, to be read vertically from top to bottom and then right to left. Unlike the original “Songyuan Tongbao”, however, the characters “Song” and “Yuan” are in seal script, while “Tong” and “Bao” are in regular script. The seal-script form of “Song” may have originated, at the earliest, from Emperor Renzong’s “Huang Song Tongbao”, whereas the seal-script “Yuan” may derive, at the earliest, from the Southern Tang “Kaiyuan Tongbao”. The reverse is plain and flat, without any inscription; beneath the square hole there is a linear scratch.

This piece is evidently not an official Song casting, and, given its likely function in circulation, it is also unlikely to be a privately cast issue from the Chinese heartland. Its calligraphic style shows little resemblance to surviving official coinages of Japan, Korea, or Annam. The Annan Quanpu classifies it under “unknown category” (buzhi pinlei); items of this type are often unique specimens, making subdivision into established varieties difficult. This coin may have originated from a private casting in Annam, or it may represent a so-called “island coin” (shima-sen)—a debased, privately cast trade cash either produced in Japan or a low-quality private casting that entered circulation in Japan—which is comparatively rare.

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 coinage system of the Northern and Southern Song was complex. Among the officially circulating issues, both copper-alloy and iron coins were employed, functioning in tandem with paper money as a counterbalancing medium. Silver, meanwhile, gradually assumed an increasingly important role. Copper cash were issued with face values ranging from zhe-1 to zhe-10. Each circuit minted coins according to local demand: some used only copper cash, some only iron cash, and others a mixture of both. Calligraphic styles likewise varied, including regular script, clerical script, seal script, and Slender Gold, among others. In terms of material, the coinage is often described broadly as “bronze”, but in practice it was chiefly a ternary alloy of copper, tin, and lead.

物件編號: A3905

年代: 公元 1039-1885 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.1 x 24.0 x 1.1 mm

重量: 3.4 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚「宋元通寶」，錢名同建隆元年(公元960年)，宋朝開國皇帝宋太祖所鑄造的第一款錢幣「宋元通寶」。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。錢面錢文「宋元通寶」，自上而下，自右而左對讀。與原「宋元通寶」不同，「宋、元」字為篆書，「通、寶」為楷書。「宋」篆字最早可能來自宋仁宗「皇宋通寶」；「元」篆字最早可能來自南唐「開元通寶」。錢幕光平無文，錢穿下方有一劃痕。

該錢幣顯然並非宋代官鑄，考慮流通性也應該不是漢地私鑄。與現存的日本、朝鮮、安南官方鑄錢的錢文風格少有相似之處，《安南泉譜》將其列入「不知品類」，該類多為孤品，難以分別手類。該錢幣可能來自安南私鑄或是所謂「島錢」，即日本私鑄或流通至日本的私鑄劣質貿易錢，頗為罕見。

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。幣材則多以青銅為主，實則為銅錫鉛三元合金。