Item number: A3954

Reference number: DCD#63-3

Year: AD 1017-1021

Material: Bronze

Size: 21.0 x 21.0 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 1.9 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a Tianxi Tongbao coin, cast during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, the third emperor of the Northern Song dynasty, and named after the third reign title that he employed. Over the course of Zhao Heng’s twenty-four years on the throne, he successively used five reign titles.

In form, the coin is a traditional square-holed round cash coin of the Sinosphere. On the obverse appears the inscription Tianxi Tongbao (天禧通寶) in regular script, read in sequence from the top and then clockwise. The characters are relatively small, and the character bao (寶) is comparatively broad. Overall, the coin is smaller, lighter, and thinner than others of the same variety. The reverse is plain and smooth, without inscription. It is suspected to be a privately cast issue.

Zhao Heng, Emperor Zhenzong of Song, was the third emperor of the Song dynasty and the son of Emperor Taizong, Zhao Jiong. He ascended the throne in the third year of the Zhi Dao era (AD 997) and reigned until the first year of the Qianxing era (AD 1022), a total of twenty-five years. During his reign, he successively employed the five reign titles Xianping, Jingde, Dazhong Xiangfu, Tianxi, and Qianxing. In the early part of his reign, Emperor Zhenzong broadly inherited the governing foundations established under Emperor Taizong. Politically, he placed considerable emphasis on civil governance and continued the Song policy of venerating Confucian learning and according high regard to the scholar-official class. During the first half of his reign, relations between the Northern Song and the Liao remained tense. In the first year of the Jingde era (AD 1004), Liao forces advanced southwards, and, at the urgent insistence of the chief councillor Kou Zhun, Emperor Zhenzong personally travelled to Chanzhou to supervise the war effort. The conflict ultimately ended with the conclusion of the Chanyuan Treaty between Song and Liao, after which the two states broadly maintained a long period of peace. Although this agreement secured peace through the payment of annual tribute, it also brought relative stability to the Northern Song’s northern frontier; nevertheless, Emperor Zhenzong gradually came to regard it as detrimental. In the middle and later years of his reign, he increasingly attached importance to auspicious omens, the feng and shan sacrifices, and Daoist notions of divine portents. Particularly during the Dazhong Xiangfu era, it was repeatedly proclaimed that heavenly texts had descended, grand court ceremonies were held, and the last fengshan sacrifice in Chinese history was performed. After Emperor Zhenzong’s death, his son Zhao Zhen succeeded to the throne as Emperor Renzong of Song.

The monetary system of the Northern and Southern Song was complex. The officially circulating coinage alone was issued in both copper and iron, functioning in conjunction with paper currency. Silver likewise gradually assumed an important role. Denominations of copper cash ranged from one to ten. Each circuit cast coinage according to its own requirements: some used only copper coins, some only iron coins, and some employed both copper and iron. The scripts used on coins were also highly varied, including regular, clerical, seal, and Slender Gold script, among others.

物件編號: A3954

參考書目編號: DCD#63-3

年代: 公元 1017-1021 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 21.0 x 21.0 x 0.7 mm

重量: 1.9 g

來源: 斯賓客拍賣行 2023

這是北宋的第三位皇帝宋真宗在位期間，以其使用的第三個年號所鑄造的「天禧通寶」。宋真宗趙恆在位的24年間，先後使用過五個年號。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。錢幣正面錢文為楷書的「天禧通寶」，自上而右旋讀。字體較小，「寶」字較寬。整體較同版式更小且輕薄，背面光平無文，疑為私鑄。

宋真宗趙恆，為宋朝第三位皇帝，宋太宗趙炅之子，於至道三年(公元997年)即位，在位至乾興元年(公元1022年)，共二十五年。其在位期間先後使用咸平、景德、大中祥符、天禧、乾興五個年號。宋真宗即位初期，大體承繼太宗以來的統治基礎，政治上重視文治，延續宋代崇尚儒學、優禮士大夫的國策。其統治前期，北宋與遼朝關係緊張，至景德元年(公元1004年)遼軍南下，真宗於宰相寇準力請下親至澶州督戰，最終與遼訂立「澶淵之盟」，此後宋遼大致維持長期和平局面。此盟雖以歲幣換取和平，然亦使北宋北境得以相對安定，但真宗逐漸視其為害。真宗朝中後期，日益重視符瑞、封禪與道教祥異之說。尤其大中祥符年間，多次宣稱天書降臨，舉行朝謁等盛典，並進行中國歷史上最後一次封禪。真宗逝後，其子趙禎即位，是為宋仁宗。

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。