Item number: A3929

Year: AD 995-997

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.8 x 24.8 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 3.8 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This coin, inscribed with “Zhidao Yuanbao,” was minted during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the second emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, under his final era name, “Zhidao.” Throughout Emperor Taizong’s 21-year rule, he employed a total of five different era names.

The coin is a round cash coin with a square central hole, conforming to the traditional form of coinage within the Sinosphere. On the obverse appears the cursive-script inscription Zhidao yuanbao, read in sequence from top, right, bottom, and left, all in the emperor’s own calligraphy. In this cursive form, the character zhi 至 resembles a monk seated cross-legged, and the type has therefore acquired the nickname “little monk coin”. The character dao is comparatively short in height. The outer rim is relatively broad. The reverse is plain, bearing neither inscription nor ornament. This variety is close to the standard-form type, though it does not appear to have been recorded in earlier catalogues.

Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Kuangyi, was the younger brother of the founding emperor, Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyi’s succession is marred by the suspicion of fratricide, famously known as the “Candle Shadows and Axe Sounds” incident, coupled with several military failures during his northern campaigns against the Liao Dynasty. Consequently, he shifted his focus towards cultural endeavours, making it his mission to promote Confucianism. The two brothers, Emperor Taizu and Taizong, are often regarded as embodying the military and civil foundations of the Song Dynasty, respectively.

Emperor Taizu, during the Chunhua period (AD 990-AD 994), personally inscribed the calligraphy for the new currency “Chunhua Yuanbao,” making it the first coin in Chinese history to feature the emperor’s handwriting, known as “Imperial Script Money” (御書錢).

The coinage system of the Northern and Southern Song was complex. Officially circulating media included both copper and iron cash, complemented by paper money that functioned in mutual relation to them. The large-scale official adoption of iron cash was historically unprecedented in the Song, driven by shortages of copper ore and by frontier-region policies intended to prevent copper cash from flowing outward. Silver also gradually assumed an increasingly important role. Copper cash circulated in multiple nominal values, ranging from equivalents of one to ten. Coinage was cast by the various circuits according to local needs: some used only copper cash, others only iron, and others employed both. Calligraphic styles likewise varied, including regular, clerical, seal script, and “Slender Gold” script, among others. Although commonly described as “bronze”, the alloy in practice was typically a ternary mixture of copper, tin, and lead.

物件編號: A3929

年代: 公元 995-997 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.8 x 24.8 x 1.0 mm

重量: 3.8 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是北宋的第二任皇帝宋太宗，使用其最後一個年號鑄造的「至道元寶」。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。正面錢文草書「至道元寶」，自上而右旋讀，皆出自宋太宗的親筆書法。其中草書「至」寫法形似一僧人結跏盤坐，因而被暱稱為「小和尚錢」。「道」字字高較短。外輪較寬。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何文字和圖案。此版式近正字但前譜未見。

宋太宗趙匡義為宋朝開國皇帝趙匡胤的弟弟，由於趙匡義的繼承深陷殺害哥哥的「燭影斧聲」嫌疑，和數次北伐遼國的軍事失敗，使他轉而推行文化工作以發揚儒學為己任。宋太祖和太宗兩兄弟被視為一武一文，奠定宋朝的基礎。宋太祖更在淳化年間(公元990至994年)，親手書寫新貨幣「淳化元寶」書法，為中國歷史上第一種皇帝親筆書寫的「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。鐵錢的官方廣泛採用為宋代開歷史之先，其因為銅礦的缺乏，以及於邊路防止銅錢外流。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。