Item number: A4741

Reference number: C#37-1.2; Kann#993a

Year: AD 1876 (AH 1293)

Material: Silver

Size: 11.4 x 10.7 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 1.2 g

Manufactured by: Kashgar, Xinjiang

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2026

This is a silver tanga coin issued by Yaqub Beg, a Kokand military officer who invaded southern Xinjiang in the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign (AD 1867) and established the State of Yettishar. “Tanga” (or tenge) is the traditional designation for silver coinage employed in Yaqub Beg’s homeland of Kokand and across the Turkic-speaking peoples of Central Asia; its denomination was reckoned at five fen of silver (half a misqal), representing one-tenth, one-twelfth, or one-twentieth of an ounce (tael) of silver. Following his occupation of southern Xinjiang, Yaqub Beg established a mint in Kashgar in the thirteenth year of the Tongzhi reign (AD 1874, AH 1291), introducing the Central Asian tripartite monetary system of the tilla (gold), tanga (silver), and pul (copper) into the region. According to historical records and extant specimens, such silver tanga coins were minted roughly between AD 1874 and AD 1879.

The silver coin is slightly irregular in its circular form. The obverse rim is broadly ornamented with a beaded border, within which lie two concentric circles enclosing a band of wavy ornamentation, whilst the innermost field bears the name and titles of the Ottoman sultan. Reconstructing the complete inscription through comparison with other specimens, the legend reads from right to left: descending from the middle register downwards is the Chagatai inscription “عبد العزيز” (‘Abd al-‘Azīz), namely “Abdulaziz”, whilst positioned at the very top is “خان” (Khān), the sovereign honorific of the sultan. Because this arrangement diverges from the customary layout of Central Asian coinage, it is classified as Type II. Above the segment “‘Abd” and at the terminal stroke of “al-‘Azīz”, Arabic numerals are inscribed, which together form “١۲۹۳”, representing AH 1293 (AD 1876 to AD 1877). Given that the caliph, Abdulaziz, died on 4 June AD 1876, the date of issue should properly be assigned to AD 1876. Owing to the traditional hand-hammering technique employed in its manufacture, the dies and the silver flan were frequently misaligned, often resulting in incomplete strikes of the devices and legends.

The outer margin of the reverse is decorated with dots and geometric motifs arranged in a fixed sequence. Within solid double concentric circles, the Chagatai inscription reads downwards: “ضرب كا لطيف” (Żarb Kā Laṭīf), meaning “Struck in the pleasant [city of] Kashgar”, wherein “كا” (Kā) serves as an abbreviation for “كاشغر” (Kāshghar), denoting the mint of Kashgar.

In the third year of the Tongzhi reign (AD 1864), a large-scale anti-Qing uprising erupted across Xinjiang, precipitating the total collapse of the Qing military administrative system (junfu zhi) and its local red cash (hongqian) monetary framework. In the fourth year of the Tongzhi reign (AD 1865), the Kokand officer Yaqub Beg, escorting the Kokand Khoja scion Buzurg Khan, invaded Kashgar. He subsequently sidelined Buzurg Khan, eliminated rival separatist forces such as Rashid al-Din of Kucha and Habibullah of Khotan, exploited local vulnerabilities to penetrate southern Xinjiang, and established the State of Yettishar, which dominated the seven cities of southern Xinjiang as well as Urumqi. In the thirteenth year of the Tongzhi reign (AD 1874), he initiated coin production in Kashgar. Yaqub Beg comprehensively instituted a Central Asian Islamic currency system, issuing gold tilla, silver tanga, and copper pul coins. Among these, one silver tanga could be exchanged for fifty copper pul, whilst twenty tanga were exchangeable for one gold tilla. In the course of their circulation, the lack of standardised specifications led to a wide variety of die varieties for the silver tanga; their recorded dates spanned AH 1291 to AH 1294, and minting was even continued by Yaqub Beg’s son, Beg Quli, down to AH 1295 after his father’s death. In the first year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1875), the Qing court appointed Zuo Zongtang, Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu, as Imperial Commissioner to direct military affairs in Xinjiang. The following year (AD 1876), Zuo commanded Liu Jintang and other commanders of the Xiang Army to advance into Xinjiang, strictly adhering to the strategic principle of “securing the north before the south, advancing deliberately whilst striking swiftly”. In the third year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1877), Qing forces successively recaptured Dabancheng, Turpan, and Kucha, causing the collapse of the Yaqub Beg regime; Yaqub Beg himself died abruptly in Korla in May of that year amidst internal strife. During the military campaign, in order to stabilise market conditions and counteract the influence of rebel coinage, Zhang Yao (Assistant Military Commissioner) and Governor-General Zuo Zongtang recruited silversmiths to imitate five-fen silver coins known as the “Guangxu Tanga”, whilst also ordering the Lanzhou Machine Bureau in Gansu to strike square-holed “One Qian of Pure Silver” coins, seeking to displace and withdraw the tanga from circulation whilst subsidising military expenditures. The Qing forces subsequently pressed their advantage, liberating the seven cities of southern Xinjiang. The remnants of Yaqub Beg’s forces and his eldest son, Beg Quli, were thoroughly expelled beyond the borders in early AD 1878 (the fourth year of the Guangxu reign), thereby extinguishing the State of Yettishar; nonetheless, Yaqub Beg’s silver tanga coins continued to circulate residually among the populace of southern Xinjiang for a considerable period.

Abdulaziz reigned as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire between AD 1861 and AD 1876. Throughout his reign, he vigorously pursued the Tanzimat administrative reforms and the codification of civil law, undertook an official visit to Western Europe, and expended immense sums expanding a modern ironclad navy, before being deposed in AD 1876 amidst financial collapse and a palace coup. Within the Islamic and Arab worlds of that era, the Ottoman sultan concurrently held the pre-eminent spiritual authority as caliph of all Muslims. As an alien Kokand invader and usurper, Yaqub Beg lacked historical and religious legitimacy in his rule over southern Xinjiang; to secure international recognition, court the patronage of a great power, and win the allegiance of the Muslim populace across Central Asia and Xinjiang, he acknowledged the Ottoman Empire as his suzerain and paid distant homage to Sultan Abdulaziz as his sovereign. Consequently, on the coins he issued, he followed traditional numismatic practice by inscribing the sultan’s name and titles, thereby formally acknowledging the caliph’s sovereign calendar and demonstrating his vassalage.

物件編號: A4741

參考書目編號: C#37-1.2; Kann#993a

年代: 公元 1876 年 (伊曆 1293 年)

材料: 銀

尺寸: 11.4 x 10.7 x 1.3 mm

重量: 1.2 g

製造地 喀什，新疆

來源: 福君錢幣 2026

這是一枚於同治6年（公元1867年），入侵新疆南疆並建立「哲德沙爾汗國」的浩罕軍官阿古柏，所發行的天罡銀幣。「天罡」（Tanga / Tenge）是阿古柏的故鄉浩罕及中亞突厥語民族對銀幣的傳統稱呼，其面值作銀五分（半米斯卡爾），即白銀一兩的十分之一、十二分之一或二十分之一。阿古柏占領南疆後，於同治十三年（公元1874年，伊曆1291年）在喀什噶爾設立造幣廠，將中亞的提拉（金）、天罡（銀）與普爾（銅）三級貨幣體系引入南疆。根據史料與實物記載，這類天罡銀幣的大致鑄造時間介於公元1874年至1879年之間。

銀幣呈略為不規則的圓形。正面邊緣大致以珠圈為飾，向內是中間夾有波浪飾紋的兩道圓圈，最裡面是鄂圖曼蘇丹的名諱。參考其他品項補全銘文，錢幣的文字由右至左，自中段往下為察合台文「عبد العزيز」(‘Abd al-‘Azīz Khān)，即「阿卜杜勒-阿齊茲」，最上方為「خان」(Khān)，即「汗」，為蘇丹榮銜。由於順序與一般中亞錢幣相異，列為第二型。字段「阿卜杜勒」的上方，以及「阿齊茲」的字尾，分別有阿拉伯文數字，合為「١۲۹۳」，即伊曆1293年，即公元1876至1877年，考慮到哈里發為公元1876年6月4日逝世的阿卜杜勒-阿齊茲，故當為公元1876年。由於該幣採用傳統的手工打製工藝，模具與銀片往往無法精確對齊，導致經常圖文不全。

錢幣背面的外緣，以固定排列順序的圓點和幾何圖案作為裝飾。實心雙層圓圈內由上而下，鐫有察合台文「ضرب كا لطيف」(Żarb Kā Laṭīf)，即「鑄造於美好的喀什噶爾」，其中「كا」(Kā)為「كاشغر」(Kāshghar)簡稱，即鑄地「喀什噶爾」。

同治三年（公元1864年）新疆爆發大規模反清起義，清朝在當地的軍府制與紅錢體系瓦解崩潰。同治四年（公元1865年），浩罕汗國軍官阿古柏，挾持浩罕和卓後裔布素魯克入侵喀什噶爾，隨後排擠布素魯克，並先後消滅庫車熱西丁與和闐哈比布拉等割據勢力，乘虛侵入南疆，建立盤踞南疆七城及烏魯木齊等地的「哲德沙爾汗國」，並於同治十三年（公元1874年）在喀什噶爾開爐造幣。阿古柏全面推行中亞伊斯蘭貨幣體系，發行金幣「鐵剌」、銀幣「天罡」與銅幣「普爾」。其中天罡銀幣一枚可兌換五十枚普爾銅幣，二十枚則可兌換鐵剌金幣一枚。在發展過程中，由於缺乏統一規範，天罡銀幣版式繁多；紀年則涵蓋伊曆1291年至1294年，甚至在阿古柏死後由其子伯克胡里續鑄至1295年。光緒元年（公元1875年），清政府任命陝甘總督左宗棠為欽差大臣督辦新疆軍務，次年（公元1876年）左宗棠指揮劉錦棠等湘軍將士挺進新疆，堅持「先北後南、緩進速戰」的戰術原則。光緒三年（公元1877年），清軍連克達坂城、吐魯番與庫車，阿古柏政權土崩瓦解，阿古柏本人於同年五月在庫爾勒因內鬥猝死。清軍進軍過程中，為穩定市面與消滅偽幣影響，幫辦軍務張曜與陝甘總督左宗棠曾招募銀匠仿製「光緒天罡」五分銀幣，及令甘肅蘭州機器局鑄「足銀壹錢」方孔銀幣等，嘗試取代及收繳天罡銀幣，同時也可彌補軍費。清軍隨後乘勝收復南疆七城，阿古柏殘部及其長子伯克胡里於光緒四年（公元1878年）初被徹底驅逐出境，哲德沙爾汗國遂告覆滅，但阿古柏天罡銀幣在南疆民間仍長期殘留流通。

阿卜杜勒-阿齊茲（Abdul Aziz）於公元1861年至1876年間即位為鄂圖曼土耳其帝國蘇丹。他在位期間積極推行《坦志麥特》行政改革與民法典編纂，並曾親訪西歐，同時耗費巨資擴建現代化鐵甲海軍，最終因財政崩潰與政變於公元1876年被廢黜。在當時的伊斯蘭世界與阿拉伯世界中，鄂圖曼帝國蘇丹同時兼任全體穆斯林的最高精神領袖「哈里發」。阿古柏作為外來的浩罕入侵者與篡奪者，在南疆的統治缺乏歷史與宗教合法性；為了爭取國際承認、尋求強權庇護，並獲得中亞及新疆穆斯林民眾對其政權的認同，阿古柏奉鄂圖曼帝國為宗主國，遙尊蘇丹阿卜杜勒-阿齊茲為領袖。因此，他在自己發行錢幣上，遵循傳統，鐫銘蘇丹之銘，以此奉哈里發為正朔，並表達臣服。