THE SOUTHERN SONG HISTORY COLLECTIONS
COPYRIGHT@2012
this the sample of e-book in CD-ROM
The Southern Song Dynasty
History collections
Created By
Dr Iwan Suwandy,MHA
Copyright@2012
Private Limited Edition In CD-ROM
Cizhou Bottle Vase , Southern Song (1127 – 1279)
FORWARD
I hope this information in limited e-book will useable for the collectors or the writer as the basic info for their collections or for writing book and research book.
During my study I realized that the rare and very difficult cast coind were during the southern song dynasty and the khitan yurcen tartar including western Xia and Liao dynasty.
During southern song era for the first time issued the Iron cast coin and the years issued of the bronze and iron coins,the informations related with this tyhpe of cast coin very limited and many lack informations.
I have found some rare southern song dynasty coins in Indonesia like during Chien Yen yuan pao , and Cjhia Ting Yuan Pao, but I never found enough info related with this cast coin.also ther ceramic art work related with this coins.
I hope all the collectors and scientist sinology will be kind to help me with their own informations especially to comment and correctios ,also upload the sample of iron or cast coinst from souithern song and Khoitan tartas dynasty,
I hope with this study we can know why the Chinese empire moved to the south, and why they issued the iron cast coin and issued the year of the cast coins issued. Also what another ceramic and art work exist during that era.
This is the whole world study as the movement to save the world heritage from china empire which many relation with South east asia country,s kingdom especial;lly from Thailand,Vietnam and Indonesia like srivijaya kingdom,and old Java Kingdom.
For all that info ,thanks very much.
.
Jakarta 2012
The Author
Dr Iwan suwandy,MHA.
The Southern Song portion of the Song dynasty, lasting for 153 years (from 1127 to 1279), was a crucial period in the history of China’s cultural development. The Southern Song court not only promoted itself as inheriting the line of orthodox rule by reinvigorating traditional rules of rites and music, it also helped breathe life into literary trends of the Jiangnan area in the south, attaching great importance to education in Confucian studies, converging Buddhist and Daoist thought, and firmly establishing Zhu Xi as representing the Confucian orthodoxy in the study of the Classics. Furthermore, the court successfully encouraged various forms of economic development, to such an extent that agriculture expanded, commerce thrived, handicrafts blossomed, and foreign trade flourished at this time. Economic prosperity helped drive the winds of change in art and culture as well. All forms of literary expression reveal in one way or another fulfillment of the Way as well as the scholarly pursuit of ease and naturalness. Cultivated scholars were fond of connoisseurship and collecting objects of culture and refinement, paying particular attention to expressions of taste in life. In terms of painting and calligraphy as well as arts and crafts, guidance from the imperial family, new geographic and climatic conditions of the area, and changes in humanistic trends all helped to yield unique and highly artistic qualities in both content and form that had a profound influence on developments in later art.
Today, objects surviving from the Southern Song are not only artworks of immense aesthetic value, they also serve as ideal evidence to explain cultural modes of the period. To present a complete overview of Southern Song art and culture, the displays in this exhibition feature a large number of precious artifacts of the period from the National Palace Museum collection. Painting and calligraphy, for example, include examples of imperial calligraphy, the works of court artists, scholar-official painting and calligraphy, and calligraphy by famous sages, important officials, and Buddhist and Daoist figures. The antiquities feature Guan (Official) porcelains, Duan inkstones, jade carvings, and bronze mirrors. And along with numerous Song editions of rare books, this exhibit consists of more than 300 works in all. In addition, the National Palace Museum has arranged for loans of Southern Song artifacts from more than ten other institutions and individuals, including the Tokyo National Museum and Kyoto National Museum in Japan as well as the Shanghai Museum, Liaoning Provincial Museum, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, and Fujian Museum in China, providing a full presentation of the innovations and achievements in Southern Song art and culture
The exhibit is scheduled to run from October 8 to December 26, 2010. The numerous works of painting and calligraphy, antiquities, and rare books are being displayed in ten galleries on the first and second floors of the Museum’s main exhibit building. The four sections of the exhibit (“Cultural Invigoration,” “Artistic Innovation,” “Life Aesthetics,” and “Transmission and Fusion”) help explain how the Southern Song promoted, respectively, the notion of continuing the orthodox line of rule, innovative artistic tastes, aesthetic ideas in the Jiangnan area, and various directions in regional exchange and transmission in cultural circles through painting and calligraphy, arts and crafts, and books and publishing. In doing so, the rich and unique forms and content of Southern Song art and culture are revealed for all to study and appreciate.
Southern Song Dynasty c
Painting and Calligraphy Section
In the Southern Song period, communication in art and culture with foreign lands occurred not only through exchange among people and goods with the Jin dynasty to the north, but also in the development of trade with areas to the southeast and southwest. Of particular importance was the expansion of foreign trade via sea routes. With the rise of large harbors dealing in foreign trade at Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Lin’an, and Mingzhou (Ningbo, Zhejiang), the area of trade expanded to the South China Sea and west to as far as Persia, the Mediterranean Sea, and East Africa. The development of Chan (Zen) Buddhist painting and calligraphy was also an important link for the spread of Song culture. Works of calligraphy by such Chan masters as Dahui Zonggao, Wuzhun Shifan, Jingsou Jujian, Xutang Zhiyu, and Defu on loan from the Tokyo National Museum, along with “Lohan” paintings attributed to Su Hanchen and a portrayal of “Budai” to Muqi from the Kyoto National Museum, further testify to relations with Japan that took place at this time.
Immortal in Splashed Ink
Liang Kai (fl. early 13th c.), Song dynasty
Album leaf, ink on paper, 48.7 x 27.7 cm
Liang Kai was a native of Dongping in Shandong who settled in Qiantang (modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang). In the Jiatai era (1201-1204) he served as Painter-in-Attendance. He refused the prestigious Golden Belt, however, leaving it hanging at the imperial court.
In this painting, the second leaf from the album “Assorted Gems of Famous Paintings,” is a squinting immortal chuckling as he walks along. With his chest and abdomen exposed, he seems to be shuffling forward. Except for the fine outlines of his head and facial features, nearly all of the clothing was done with wet applications of monochrome ink. The brush was freely handled to bring out everything in the thoroughly drunken appearance of this immortal. This type of unrestrained painting by Liang Kai, with its abbreviated brushwork rich in Chan overtones, was highly favored by Japanese monks and laymen, later having a great influence on Zen painting in Japan.
Antiquities Section
The Southern Song was a time of commerce, with paper money in wide circulation as well as gold, silver leaves or ingots being common currencies, whereas its copper coins went beyond the borders and became the key medium of exchange in many surrounding nations. Through the frontier trading posts, the jewelry and porcelain of the Jin State arrived in the Jiangnan and vast quantities of tea, silk, and herbs of the Southern Song shipped north. Jin and Song as a result shared kindred spirit artistically and literarily. Sea routes also took Chinese merchandise far and wide to many other Asian countries; foreign merchants reaching the shores of China in return brought enriching cultural messages. At the same time, the Taiwan Island and its nearby islets saw the coming and going of the Southern Song traders; their footprints are still here today for us to reminisce about a splendid past.
Kendi with green glaze, Cizao ware of Quanzhou
Southern Song to Yuan dynasties, 13th-14th C.
Donated by Dr. Ip Yee
Collection of National Palace Museum
“Kundika” is a Sanskrit word that means a cleansing water bottle, which is used for carrying water and for washing one’s hands. This kundika is long and straight at the neck, the center section angled; the tube-shaped spout is also long and thin, the surface decorated with simple horizontal lines. The lead green glaze was fired in low temperature. This is a product of the Cizau ware of Fujian.
The Cizau ware was located in the vicinity of Jinjiang in southern Fujian, near Quanzhou, and had been making ceramics and porcelain since the 5thcentury. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties Quanzhou had established a “Bureau of Foreign Trade” to manage the foreign trade market, and by virtue of its diversity of products and convenience of location, Cizau ware had successfully exported many of its ceramic and porcelain products to the South Pacific region. Income from foreign trade was an important resource for the national treasury during the Southern Song Period, and fabric, coins, lacquer ware and porcelain were all major export items. Large and small kilns could be found in Fujian and Guangdong along the southeastern coast, and besides supplying the daily needs of the domestic market, they also produced many items to meet the special needs of foreign markets. This green glaze kundika was one such product created for the overseas market, and is testimony to the lively trading activities between China and Southeast Asia at the time.
Books Section
During the Southern Song period rule by the literati and literary pursuits were highly emphasized. Reading and other aspects of culture were the height of fashion from the government to the private sector, from governmental officials to every people. While this trend demonstrates on the one hand the diversity of printed books and reading options, on the other hand it is inspired by the revolution of the paper-making and printing industry. These changes gave rise to a new age of printing culture during the Southern Song Period.
Transmission and fusion of culture are heavily reliant upon the printing, selling and distribution of books. Both the Southern Song government and printers from the private sector made use of their respective advantages in printing books. Governmental publications were widely circulated and finely printed, while private publishers made use of advertising and marketing in making known their publication rights. Both government and private sector printed books ultimately became parts of private collections, while others were transmitted to other countries as testament to the richness of cultural fusion.
This exhibition of books from the Southern Song enables one to better understand the various aspects of cultural transmission and fusion. We also have this opportunity to appreciate this glorious period in international transmission of books that is the Southern Song.
The Literary Collection of Zhu Xi
Written by Zhu Xi of Song dynasty
Zhejiang imprint of Southern Song dynasty between 1195 and 1224, with revision of Yuan dynasty
The renowned Southern Song Confucian master, Zhu Xi (1130~1200), style names Yuanhui, Zhonghui, with sobriquets Huiweng, Tun- weng and Sick Man of Cangzhou later in his life, was born in Nanping, Fujian, and his ancestors came from Wuyuan, Jiangxi. During his lifetime he studied a great variety of fields; in addition to Confucianism, he had also written extensively on philosophy, ethics, history, political science, philology and philological theory. His youngest son, Zhu Zai, compiled his treatises and edited them to become the The Literary Collection of Zhu Xi.
The Literary Collection of Zhu Xicomprises of 100 volumes and was compiled during the late of Ningzong Emperor and the early of Lizong Emperor. During Southern Song the printing industry was highly developed; in the beginning the imperial printers and private printers had generally focused on duplicate prints or reprints of Northern Song editions. At first the printers had primarily published books on Confucianism and references for imperial examinations; later as poetry and literature became more popular, the poetry and prose of famous Tang and Song literati also became popular for publication, leading to creation of a new print font that had a sculpturistic style, was concise in form and visually balanced, and that was unique in the history of printing development in China. The print font adopted by the Zhejiang edition was highly regular in character stroke order and strict in structure, resembling the writing style of Ouyang Xun of Tang Dynasty. The version exhibited here is the Zhejiang official edition; two copies are in the National Palace Museum collection, but both are incomplete. This edition is not the first edition, but a later edition repaired during Yuan Dynasty. Originally the book comprised of 100 volumes but now only 54 remained. The book was compiled soon after Zhu Xi passed away, and in terms of structure this edition has preserved the format of the first edition, which serves as excellent reference for determining the authenticity of contents of later editions through the ages. The plate form, binding and carving of this edition are also references for identification the edition of Song Dynasty.
Critical Compilation of All Books by Mr. Shantang
Written by Zhang Ruyu of Song dynasty
Pocket-sized edition of Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279)
The Critical Compilation of All Books by Mr. Shantang compiled by Zhang Ruyu of Song Dynasty, also referred to as the “Critical Compilation by Mr. Shantang” or “Critical Compilation of All Books“, was an important reference material for imperial examinations during the Southern Song Dynasty.
Zhang Ruyu, style name Junqing, was a native of Jinhua, Wuzhou (now Jinhua, Zhejiang). Having angered the powerful Han Tuozhou, he resigned from his position and returned to teach in the mountains. He was respected far and wide as a teacher, and was referred to as “Mr. Shantang”. His compilation of “Shantang Examination Reference” originally comprised of 100 volumes in 10 catalogues, which was continuously added during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and it finally became 212 volumes in 46 catalogues. The entire treatise compiles the current political affairs and system of ceremony from earlier dynasties, citing innumerous classics and historical records, and can be said to be a most comprehensive reference. The National Palace Museum holds only 10 volumes of one anthology, “Governmental Appointment System”, covering the subjects of positions and offices, examinations, remuneration, official farms, employ, honors and awards.
These volumes are bound in the so-called “Pocket-sized Edition (kerchief box)” format, which is one of the special characteristics of these volumes. “Kerchief box” refers to the small box used to carry head-kerchiefs in ancient times. The publishers had deliberately published books in small sizes so that the scholars could conveniently carry them in their kerchief boxes, and these were then referred to as “Pocked-sized Edition”. The book exhibited here not only to demonstrate how the popularity of imperial examinations had affected published contents of books at the time; more importantly, the ease of carriage of kerchief box editions evidences the convenience and diversity of dissemination of books during the Southern Song Dynasty.
Study Notes of Zhao Gongwu
Written by Zhao Gongwu and continued by Zhao Xibian of Song dynasty
Li Anchao imprint in Yuanzhou of Southern Song dynasty in 1249, with later additions and revisions
Zhao Gongwu (circa 1105~1180), style name “Zizhi”, was native of Juye, Shandung. His family resided Shaode area of Bianjing, and he was therefore referred to as “Mr. Shaode”. His work Study Notes of Zhao Gongwu is the earliest index of a private book collection with title explanations surviving in China today. Many of the items in his collection were books not mentioned of “Song History”, and not only supplements the omissions in Song History: Art and Literature Record but also serves as a reference for various Classics and treatises written before and during Song Dynasty. In ancient times categories adopted for library indexes were created based on the kinds of books actually in the collection; the book collector would refer to the prevailing academic customs and earlier methods of indexing, in creating an indexing system that best expresses the particular characteristics of his book collection and that is most convenient to use. Study Notes of Zhao Gongwunot only shows cultural characteristics unique to those times, but also expressly or implicitly convey the personal academic views of the book collector; this is the special quality of private book collections in Song Dynasty.
Erya: a Dictionary
Annotated by Guo Pu of Jin dynasty
Directorate of Education imprint of Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279)
Erya: a Dictionary is the earliest dictionary in Chinese history. “Er” means “close”, while “ya” means “correct / right” This is a tool book that uses the official language to interpret the meaning of ancient words, provincial dialects and rarely used words. The author is unknown, and the book was first written some time after Western Han Period. As spoken and written language had changed rapidly from the Cunchiu, Warring Kingdoms to the Western Han periods, later generations were soon unable to understand books from earlier periods; therefore Erya: a Dictionary, a tool book specializing in interpretation of ancient words, was born. Annotations of Erya: a Dictionary by Guo Pu (275~324) of Western Jin Period was highly popular amongst the literati, and these made “The Annotations to Erya: a Dictionary become the most widely disseminated today.
During the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, imperial examinations became an important means for the government to recruit officials. At the time the Directorate of Education had adopted a duplicate print of Erya: a Dictionary from the Five Dynasties era as the official edition, but this edition contained annotations without explanations. During the middle of the Jinkang era the Directorate of Education edition was robbed by the invading Jin, so that not many of these remained; after the imperial family crossed to the south, the Directorate of Education first commissioned the counties in the vicinity of Linan City to remake plates for Erya: a Dictionary, and then ordered these counties to submit the plates to the Directorate of Education for preservation. Therefore, although this set of Erya: a Dictionary in the National Palace Museum collection is attributed to the Directorate of Education, in actual fact it had been made by some county in the vicinity of Linan. This set of Erya: a Dictionary has a broad columns, upright and powerful character style, and the characters are as large as coins. The majority of later scholars consider it to retain the book carving style of the Northern Song Dynasty, and it is now the world’s sole surviving sample from that edition.
Round box with decoration of two birds and peonies, China, late Southern Song to early Yuan dynasty, late 13th century. Carved lacquer;d: 40 cm x h: 20 cm.
CLEVELAND, OH.- A late 13th-century Chinese carved lacquer box, one of the most significant and exquisite examples of its type, has been approved by the Collections Committee of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees. The Chinese lacquer box further enhances the museum’s renowned Asian art collection, as the museum moves toward the completion of its transformational building expansion and Asian collection reinstallation which will be completed in 2013. Adding such a rare object to the collection will allow scholars to develop new interpretations of the artistic achievements of Chinese culture.
The Round Box with Decoration of Two Birds and Peonies is of great art-historical significance since it offers new insights into the development of early Chinese carved lacquer. This lacquer box is unique in combining both naturalistic and abstract approaches to the decoration of carved lacquer, incorporating a geometric pattern of spiral scrolls with a decoration of two birds in flight against a floral ground as its primary design. The design combination adds to its rarity, since these two decorative schemes are usually applied independently.
Stylistically, this box represents the transition of Chinese carved lacquer from the late Southern Song to the early Yuan period. The box incorporates the Southern Song period-style in the carving of the spiral scrolls—notably, the deep cutting with a V-shaped profile through the alternate layers of lacquer in black, red and brownish yellow—and also demonstrates further advancement in the treatment of the flower-and-bird design, anticipating the later development of a full Yuan style in carved lacquer. Each surface area is cut deeply in a manner that is consistent with the Southern Song carving style, yet there are new stylistic tendencies towards a dense composition and overlapping of three-dimensional forms—characteristics that were continuously adopted in the typical Yuan and Ming carved lacquer developed later.
Lacquer ware was always a valuable product in Chinese material culture and was intended for wealthy connoisseurs. Carved objects were often used as precious gifts or luxury goods in diplomatic, religious and economics exchanges with other countries, such as Japan where this box was discovered. Adding such a rare object to the collection will allow scholars to develop new interpretations of the artistic achievements of Chinese culture.
Round box with decoration of two birds and peonies, China, late Southern Song to early Yuan dynasty, late 13th century. Carved lacquer;d: 40 cm x h: 20 cm
Celadon Bowl with Lotus-Petal Decor
Porcelain, Lung-ch’uan Ware
Southern Sung, 12th-13th century
Height: 8.6 cm, mouth diameter: 13.3 cm, base diameter: 7.4 cm
 
|
With a straight mouth and deep body, the wall of this ring-based bowl is delicately carved in a continuous pattern of long carved lotus petals. Each petal was rendered with a knife with the center raised so that the glaze thinned and the color lightened there. Petals are placed in between in the background while another circle of shorter petals is near the base. Covered with a light pastel green glaze, it gives the appearance of a lotus bud having just blossomed. Perhaps this is what the Sung potter was trying to achieve. The glaze imparts a semi-translucent warmth that makes it look almost like jade. Light and dark are suggested by the ridges of the petals, where the greyish-white body comes close to the surface of the glaze. Lung-ch’uan ware was fired in kilns near Lung-ch’uan County in southern Chekiang province. It matured in the Southern Sung and spread far and wide, becoming one of the most popular ceramic types from the Sung to the Ming dynasties. It was even appreciated overseas and was a major export item. This ceramic ware was treasured from Japan to Southeast Asia, and even made its way to Europe, where prized examples were known as celadons in praise of their beautiful pastel-green glaze. Lung-ch’uan ware, often presented to the court as tribute, was fired with a range of pastel green or blue-green glazes. This work has a copper band along the mouth and the straight walls suggest that it probably once had a lid. |
cast coin
A.d. 1127-1279
Emperor Kao Zong. 1127-1162.
Schjöth 674v. Jian Yan Zhong Bao.
Schjöth 684. Shao Xing Yuan Bao.
Schjöth 688. Shao Xing Yuan Bao.
Schjöth 689. Shao Xing Yuan Bao.
Schjöth 690. Shao Xing Yuan Bao.
Emperor Xiao Zong. 1163-1189.
Emperor Xiao Zong began to mark the year of issue on the reverse of the coins. The numeral indicates which year of the reign title the coin was issued. Yuan the first, er the second and so on.
This practice was followed on most coins during the rest of the dynasty (D. Ren p. 75, 83).
Ding 1174. Long Xing Yuan Bao.
Schjöth 712v Ding 1189. Qian Dao Yuan Bao. Iron. Reverse tong. Tongan mint.
Schjöth 732v. Chun Xi Yuan Bao. Reverse “ba”.
Schjöth 733. Chun Xi Yuan Bao. Reverse 9.
Schjöth 734. Chun Xi Yuan Bao. Reverse 10.
Schjöth 735. Chun Xi Yuan Bao. Reverse 11.
Schjöth 738. Chun Xi Yuan Bao. Reverse 14.
Schjöth 740. Chun Xi Yuan Bao. Reverse 16.
Schjöth 741. Chun Xi Yuan Bao.
Emperor Guang Zong. 1190-1194.
Schjöth 768. Shao Xi Yuan Bao. Reverse 3.
Shao Xi Tong Bao. One qian. Reverse chun and san. Iron. Qichun mint.
Ding 1241 Schjöth 782. Shao Xi Tong Bao. Two qian.
Reverse chun and san. Qichun mint. Iron.
Emperor Ning Zong. 1195-1224.
Ding 1252. Iron. Qing Yuan Tong Bao. Reverse Chun and yuan. Qichun mint, yuan indicating
the first year of this reign title: 1195.
Ding 1253. Iron. Qing Yuan Tong Bao. Reverse Chun and er. Qichun mint, er indicating
the second year of this reign title: 1196.
Schjöth 805. Ding 1255. Iron. Qing Yuan Tong Bao. Reverse Chun and san. Qichun mint,
san indicating the third year of this reign title: 1197.
Ding 1262v. Iron. Qing Yuan Tong Bao. Reverse tong and wu. Tongan mint wu indicating
the fifth year of this reign title: 1199.
Schjöth 817v Ding 1279. Qing Yuan Tong Bao. Iron. Value 3.
Han and yuan on reverse. Hanyang mint. Yuan is indicating the first year of this reign title: 1195.
Schjöth 835. Jia Tai Tong Bao.
Schjöth 871 Ding 1342. Kai Xi Tong Bao. Iron. Reverse han and san (3). Hanyang mint.
Schjöth 895v. Jia Ding Tong Bao.
Ding 1450. Sheng Song Zhong Bao. Iron. Reverse upper li yi 
below wu 
.
Emperor Li Zong. 1225-1264.
Ding 1451. Bao Qing Yuan Bao. Reverse crescent. Iron. Hanyang mint.
Schjöth 961v (smaller) Ding 1457. Da Song Yuan Bao. Reverse 2.
Ding 1482. Shao Ding Tong Bao. Iron. Reverse Chun for Qichun mint and yuan for first year.
Schjöth 983. Duan Ping Tong Bao.
Ding 1503v. Duan Ping Tong Bao. Reverse wu hui and xia dong 
. Iron.
Ding 1506. Ding Jia Xi Tong Bao. Reverse er (two).
Ding 1541. Chun You Yuan Bao. Value two. Reverse shiyi (thirteen).
Schjöth 1026. Huang Song Yuan Bao. Reverse 3.
Schjöth 1027. Huang Song Yuan Bao. Reverse 4.
Ding 1572. Kai Qing Tong Bao. Reverse Yuan (first year).
Schjöth 1042v. Jing Ding Yuan Bao. Reverse “Yuan” first year.
Emperor Du Zong. 1265-1274.
.
Schjöth 1049 Ding 1583. Xian Chun Yuan Bao.
The reverse is unreadable
Emperor Gong Di. 1275. (Issued no coins)
Emperor Duan Zong. 1276-1277. (Issued no coins)
Emperor Di Bing. 1278-1279. (Issued no coins)
INTRODUCTIONS
Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279)
Poet Strolling by a Marshy Bank, Southern Song dynasty, Liang Kai (Chinese), Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on silk (1989.363.14)
Tea bowl, Song dynasty, 960–1279; Jian ware
Fujian Province, China
Stoneware with hare’s-fur glaze
Diam. 5 in. (12.7 cm)
Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 (91.1.226)
Silver service, Song dynasty (960–1279), 11th–13th century
China
Silver with gilding
Diam. from 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm) to 7 1/2 in. (19 cm)
Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 1997 (1997.33.1-6)
Poem of Farewell to Liu Man, Song dynasty (960–1279), 12th century
Yelü Chucai (Chinese, 1190–1244)
Handscroll; ink on paper
21 columns in regular script; 14 3/ 8 x 108 1/8 in. (36.5 x 274.6 cm)
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988 (1989.363.17)
Quatrain on Spring’s Radiance, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Yang Meizi (Chinese, 1162–1232; empress to Ningzong, from 1202–24)
Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on silk; 5 columns in regular script
9 1/8 x 9 5/8 in. (23.2 x 24.4 cm)
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988 (1989.363.12)
Mountain Market in Clearing Mist, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Xia Gui (Chinese, active ca. 1195–1230)
Album leaf; ink on silk
9 3/4 x 8 3/8 in. (24.8 x 21.3 cm)
Signed: “Xia Gui”
John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913 (13.100.102)
Orchids, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Ma Lin (Chinese, active ca. 1180–after 1256)
Album leaf; ink and color on silk
10 7/16 x 8 7/8 in. (26.5 x 22.5 cm)
Signed: “Ma Lin”
Ex coll.: C.C. Wang Family, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973 (1973.120.10)
Narcissus, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Zhao Mengjian (Chinese, 1199–before 1267)
Handscroll; ink on paper
13 1/16 x 146 9/16 in. (33.2 x 372.2 cm)
Ex coll.: C.C. Wang Family, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973 (1973.120.4)
Dish, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), 12th–13th century; Guan ware
From the Hangzhou kilns, Zhejiang Province, China
Porcelaneous stoneware with crackled blue glaze
Diam. 8 11/16 in. (22.1 cm)
Fletcher Fund, 1924 (24.172.1)
Vase, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), 12th–13th century; Longquan ware
China, Possibly from the Dayao kilns, Zhejiang Province
Porcelaneous stoneware with relief decoration under celadon glaze
H. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm)
Bequest of Mary Stillman Harkness, 1950 (50.145.301)
Scholar by a Waterfall, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), late 12th–early 13th century
Ma Yuan (Chinese, active ca. 1190–1225)
Album leaf: ink and color on silk
9 7/8 x 10 1/4 in. (25.1 x 26 cm)
Signed: “Servitor, Ma Yuan”
Ex coll.: C.C. Wang Family, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973 (1973.120.9)
Viewing Plum Blossoms by Moonlight, Southern Song dynasty (1271–1368)
Ma Yuan (Chinese, active ca. 1190–1225)
Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk
Image: 9 7/8 x 10 1/2 in. (25.1 x 26.7 cm), with mat: 15 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. (39.4 x 39.4 cm)
Signed: “Ma Yuan”
Gift of John M. Crawford Jr., in honor of Alfreda Murck, 1986 (1986.493.2)
Poet Strolling by a Marshy Bank, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Liang Kai (Chinese, active first half of 13th century)
Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on silk
9 x 9 9/16 in. (22.9 x 24.3 cm)
Signed: “Liang Kai”
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988 (1989.363.14)
In 1125,
when the Jurchen, a seminomadic people from northeast Asia, invaded Song China and captured the capital at Bianliang (modern Kaifeng), founding their own Jin dynasty in the north, the Song court reestablished itself in the south in Hangzhou, where it continued to rule for another 150 years as the Southern Song dynasty.
The decorative arts reached the height of elegance and technical perfection during the Southern Song.
List of Rulers
Southern Song Dynasty (1127 – 1279 AD)
Kao Tsung [Gaozong] (1127 – 1162 AD)
Emperor Kao Tsung (1127 – 1162 AD)
AE 2 Cash (1127 – 1130 AD)
Schjoth 674
29 mm.
5.67 gm.
Reign title: Chien yen
Obverse: ‘Chien Yen T’ung Pao’
Reverse:
Hsiao Tsung [Xiaozong] (1163 – 1190 AD)
Emperor Hsiao Tsung (1163 – 1190 AD)
AE 2 Cash (1186 AD)
Schjoth 737
29 mm.
6.67 gm.
Reign title: Shun hsi
Obverse: ‘Shun Hsi Yuan Pao’
Reverse: Year 13
Emperor Hsiao Tsung (1163 – 1190 AD)
FE 3 Cash (1187 AD)
Schjoth 751
27 mm.
6.72 gm.
Magnetic.
Reign title: Shun hsi
Obverse: ‘Shun Hsi Yuan Pao’
Reverse: Year 14
Emperor Hsiao Tsung (1163 – 1190 AD)
AE 2 Cash (1189 AD)
Schjoth 740
30 mm.
5.77 gm.
Reign title: Shun hsi
Obverse: ‘Shun Hsi Yuan Pao’
Reverse: Year 16
Kuang Tsung [Guanzong] (1190 – 1194 AD)
Emperor Kuang Tsung (1190 – 1194 AD)
AE Cash (1191 AD)
Schjoth 759
24 mm.
3.01 gm.
Reign title: Shao hsi
Obverse: ‘Shao Hsi Yuan Pao’
Reverse:
Emperor Kuang Tsung (1190 – 1194 AD)
FE 3 Cash (1192 AD)
Schjoth 778
29 mm.
7.36 gm.
Magnetic.
Reign title: Shao hsi
Obverse: ‘Shao Hsi Yuan Pao’
Reverse:
Ning Tsung [Ningzong] (1195 – 1224 AD)
Emperor Ning Tsung (1195 – 1224 AD)
FE 3 Cash (1197 AD)
Schjoth – (810v.)
29 mm.
5.32 gm.
Magnetic.
Reign title: Ch’ing yuan
Obverse: ‘Ch’ing Yuan T’ung Pao’
Reverse: Year 3. ‘T’ung’ [T’ung-an mint in Fukien]
Emperor Ning Tsung (1195 – 1224 AD)
FE 3 Cash (1197 AD)
Schjoth 814
28 mm.
5.90 gm.
Magnetic.
Reign title: Ch’ing yuan
Obverse: ‘Ch’ing Yuan T’ung Pao’
Reverse: Year 3. ‘Ch’un’ [Chi-ch’un mint]
Emperor Ning Tsung (1195 – 1224 AD)
FE 3 Cash (1198 AD)
Schjoth 815
29 mm.
5.39 gm.
Magnetic.
Reign title: Ch’ing yuan
Obverse: ‘Ch’ing Yuan T’ung Pao’
Reverse: Year 4. ‘Ch’un’ [Chi-ch’un mint]
Emperor Ning Tsung (1195 – 1224 AD)
AE Cash (1204 AD)
Schjoth 838
25 mm.
2.87 gm.
Reign title: Chia t’ai
Obverse: ‘Chia T’ai T’ung Pao’
Reverse:
Emperor Ning Tsung (1195 – 1224 AD)
AE 2 Cash (1203 AD)
Schjoth 841
30 mm.
7.41 gm.
Reign title: Chia t’ai
Obverse: ‘Chia T’ai T’ung Pao’
Reverse:
Emperor Ning Tsung (1195 – 1224 AD)
FE 2 Cash (1210 AD)
Schjoth 923
27 mm.
6.79 gm.
Die position=12h
Reign title: Chia ting
Obverse: ‘Chia ting t’ung pao’
Reverse: ‘Han;’ year 3.
Emperor Ning Tsung (1195 – 1224 AD)
FE 2 Cash (1220 AD)
Schjoth 931
28 mm.
6.44 gm.
Die position=12h
Reign title: Chia ting
Obverse: ‘Chia ting t’ung pao’
Reverse: ‘Han;’ year 13.
Li Tsung [Lizong] (1225 – 1264 AD)
Emperor Li Tsung (1225 – 1264 AD)
AE Cash (1228 AD)
Schjoth 967
24 mm.
3.00 gm.
Reign title: Shao ting
Obverse: ‘Shao Ting T’ung Pao’
Reverse:
Emperor Li Tsung (1225 – 1264 AD)
FE Cash (1246 AD)
Schjoth – (1006v.)
23 mm.
2.69 gm.
Magnetic.
Reign title: Shun yu
Obverse: ‘Shun Yu Yuan Pao’
Reverse: Year 6; star (?).
Southern Song Dynasty of China
Artist
Huizong, Emperor (Chinese, 1082–1135, r. 1101–25)
Liang Kai (Chinese, active first half of 13th century)
Ma Lin (Chinese, active ca. 1180–after 1256)
Ma Yuan (Chinese, active ca. 1190–1225)
Xia Gui (Chinese, active ca. 1195–1230)
Yang Meizi (Chinese, 1162–1232; empress to Ningzong, r. 1202–24)
Yelu Chucai (Chinese, 1190–1244)
Zhao Mengjian (Chinese, 1199–before 1267)
Southern Song society was characterized by the pursuit of a highly aestheticized way of life, and paintings of the period often focus on evanescent pleasures and the transience of beauty. Images evoke poetic ideas that appeal to the senses or capture the fleeting qualities of a moment in time. One particularly important source of inspiration for Southern Song artists was the natural beauty of Hangzhou and its environs, especially West Lake, a famed scenic spot ringed with lush mountains and dotted with palaces, private gardens, and Buddhist temples.
The Southern Song Imperial Painting Academy continued the stylistic direction and high technical standards established by Emperor Huizong in the early twelfth century. Often executed in the intimate oval fan or album-leaf format, academic paintings—and the imperially inscribed poems that sometimes accompany them—reveal an increasingly narrow, concentrated vision and a commitment to the exact rendering of an object. The cultivation of a tranquil and detached mind free of material entanglements was a common concern of Song Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi (1130–1200): the “investigation of things [leading to] the extension of knowledge.”
The decorative arts also reached the height of elegance and technical perfection during the Southern Song. Like painting, the plastic arts responded to two different aesthetics—that of the imperial court and that of popular culture. Supreme among the decorative arts of the Song period are ceramics, which many connoisseurs consider the highest artistic achievement of the Chinese potter.
Fall of the Northern Sung
August 15, 2011 0 Comments
Yue Fei (1103 – 1142 A.D.)was a Chinese patriot and nationalist military leader who fought for the Southern Sung Dynasty against the Jurchen (a northern tribe which established the Jin Dynasty). He is one of the best-known generals in Chinese history, and widely credited for the creation of the martial art known as Xingyiquan. Days after his birth, flooding of the Yellow River destroyed Yue Fei’s village. His father drowned in the floods, but not before he had ensured the survival of his wife and son by floating them downstream in a very large clay jar. Yue Fei and his mother settled in Hebei province. Becoming proficient in warfare at an early age, Yue Fei as a young man narrowly escaped execution after killing the Prince of Liang in a martial arts tournament. He did not join the fight against the Jurchen invaders until he was 23.
Contrary to the teleological narrative of traditional history, neither the profligacy of Hui-tsung’s court nor the policies of the Ts’ai Ching ministry were responsible for the fall of the Northern Sung. What doomed the dynasty was a concatenation of diplomatic and military crises, into which the emperor and his ministers blundered, and from which they proved incapable of extricating themselves. While the Sung armed forces were not outnumbered by their adversaries, they were ineptly commanded from the center, by an imperial court overconfident of certain victory. Unaware of their own strategic and tactical blind spots, Hui-tsung’s unaccountable councilors and generals could not marshal and coordinate the necessary fiscal and human might to defend the empire. More than any inherent disadvantages, a lack of will and leadership caused the collapse of the Northern Sung.
From the beginning of his personal rule, Hui-tsung pursued an aggressive expansionist military and diplomatic policy against the empire’s border adversaries, with ephemeral successes followed by total failures. In a series of ultimately fruitless campaigns against the Tangut Hsi Hsia, in 1103–6 and 1113–19, Hui-tsung pursued the conquest of territories that had already been gained and lost by Shen-tsung and Che-tsung. While they did succeed in destroying the Tanguts’ preeminent position on the north-western frontier, Sung commanders overextended themselves, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
If the imperial armed forces could not hope to defeat the Hsi Hsia after years of campaigns, they were clearly outmatched by the declining Khitan Liao empire, which occupied the Sixteen Prefectures coveted by Sung emperors since the dynasty’s inception. In 1119, tempted by the desire to reconquer this terra irredenta, Hui-tsung’s court entered into a diplomatic pact with the Jurchen, whose emerging and expansionist Chin empire threatened the Liao from the north. Planning to mount concerted attacks upon the Liao, the Sung and Chin leadership agreed to split the conquered territories between them. But the need to suppress the massive popular rebellions of Fang La in 1120 prevented the Sung court from fully mobilizing its forces against the Liao, and when they finally proceeded with their invasion plans a year later the imperial troops suffered severe setbacks. After the Jurchen conquered the Liao dynasty with little assistance from the Sung, Hui-tsung’s diplomats repeatedly enraged the Chin leadership with their excessive demands for more territory. Late in 1125, the Jurchen launched a punitive invasion of the Sung empire, breaking through border defenses and capturing strategic cities in the north. Although symbolic of renewed imperial resolve, Hui-tsung’s abdication in favor of his son Ch’intsung in the twelfth month of 1125 could not stave off disaster, for the new emperor and his revolving-door councilors vacillated between appeasement and resistance. Concluding peace at any price in 1126, the Sung extricated itself from its first war with the Chin only to have its diplomatic incompetence provoke a second, fatal conflict. In the second month of 1127, Jurchen forces invaded the North China Plain, sacked K’ai-feng, and took both Hui-tsung and Ch’in-tsung prisoner, effectively decapitating the dynasty. The dynasty fell because Hui-tsung’s councilors and commanders failed to acknowledge the military might of their adversaries or to accept accountability for their ill-conceived schemes, causing them to overconfidently stumble into war against an invincible foe.
the War Affairs
Southern Song Dynasty
with the Jin Dynasty and the Mongolian Kingdom
(1115 – 1234)
From the establishment to the downfall, the Southern Song Dynasty never extricated itself completely from the endless battles with the Jin Dynasty (1115 – 1234) and the Mongolian Kingdom. To some extent the concept of ‘viewing literacy as more important than the military’, put forth during the Northern Song Dynasty, guided the Southern Song’s rulers, who tried any attempt to make peace with their enemies, contributing to continual alien invasions. That is why the Southern Song Dynasty is considered as the weakest dynasty in Chinese history.With the Jin Dynasty
| |
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Tomb of General Yue Fei, Hangzhou
|
The territorial boundary between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty was
the Huaihe River
and the Dasanguan Pass (in current Baoji City in Shaanxi Province).
Since the founding of the Southern Song dynasty, the Jin court launched frequent attacks on the Song but each was repelled by the fierce resistance of the Song court’s loyal generals. Among them, the most valiant was Yue Fei, who repeled the Jin army many times. Unfortunately, Yue Fei and his father were later falsely charged by a treacherous court official named Qin Hui and were executed by Emperor Gaozong.
After the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the relation between the Song and the Jin entered a comparatively stable stage. During Emperor Xiaozong’s reign the Song court launched several northern expeditions in the hope of recovering the lost territory but they were in vain.
Southern Song Dynasty
.
.
Establishment
| |
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Statue of Yue Fei,
a famous general in
the Southern Song Dynasty
|
After the downfall of the Northern Song dynasty (960 – 1127), the Jin army captured many members of the imperial family, except Zhao Gou, the younger brother of the last emperor.
In 1127,
the Jin dynasty withdrew its troops from Kaifeng (capital of the Northern Song Dynasty) and enthroned a puppet emperor.
Due to the people’s resentment of his betrayal of the Song Dynasty, he soon yielded the throne to Zhao Gou. However, due to continuous attacks by the Jin army, the newly-installed regime had to flee to Lin’an (currently Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province).
In 1127,
the Jin Dynasty (1115 – 1234) of northern China captured Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960 – 1127), and ended that Dynasty.
The Jin Dynasty felt that their numbers were too small to establish themselves in the Song territories, so they made Zhang Bangchang, a minister in the court of the Northern Song Dynasty, as the emperor of Chu, which was a temporary government of the Jin Dynasty in northern China.
He was selected because he had always been an advocate of making peace with the Jin Dynasty. This enabled the Jin to withdraw their troops. With strong opposition from most former ministers, Zhang Bangchang abdicated by issuing an edict in the name of Empress Dowager Meng of the Northern Song Dynasty, acclaiming Zhao Gou, younger brother of Emperor Qingzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, as emperor.
On May the first, 1127,
Zhao Gou came to the throne formally in Lin’an (Hangzhou) as Emperor Gaozong. This began the Southern Song dynasty.
1128
However, the Jin Dynasty again made a push to invade southern China in 1128 with the excuse that Zhang Bangchang had been deposed. Later, to consolidate the rule in the southern part of the Yellow River, the Jin Dynasty made Liu Yu, another minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, the emperor of the Qi which became known as the ‘False Qi’ in Chinese history. Emperor Gaozong sent his generals to resist the invaders. They successfully smashed the allied forces of the Jin Dynasty and the False Qi
In 1131,
Lin’an was officially established as the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, with Zhao Gou as its first emperor – Emperor Gaozong.
In 1138,
Emperor Gaozong,
decided that the Southern Song Dynasty should seek peace with the Jin Dynasty. He then took Prime Minster Qin Hui’s advice to recognise the Jin Dynasty and pay tribute to it in exchange for retaining sovereignty over southeastern China.
After Emperor Gaozong, the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty developed in a relatively stable environment. Although the Jin Dynasty had launched several southward aggressions, most fell by the way. The Southern Song Dynasty also went on northern expeditions in the rule of Emperor Xiaozong, the second emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, but they failed, too. Later, the Southern Song allied with the rising Mongolia to resist the Jin Dynasty together.
By 1207
the military force of the Jin had gradually abated, while the newly-founded Mongolian regime became stronger.
In 1214
when the Jin court plunged its troops southward another time, the Song army aligned itself with Mongolian army to fight against the Jin army. In
1234,
the entire Jin regime was captured by the allied forces.With
Mongolian Kingdom
| |
|
Iron statues of Zhang Jun and Mo Qixie,
who murdered Yue Fei
together with Qin Hui and his wife
|
Mongolian Kingdom was another strong enemy confronted by the Song court after the downfall of the Jin Dynasty. Immediately after the ruin of Jin, rulers of Song wanted to recover the lost territory by taking the advantage of the Mongolian troops’ withdrawal, but the Song court failed to achieve this goal due to the weakness of its military force. Taking this act of the Song as an excuse, the Mongolians tried to invade southward several times,
In 1234,
the allied forces captured Caizhou (now in Henan Province) of the Jin Dynasty. Emperor Aizong of the Jin Dynasty hanged himself, and the Jin Dynasty died with him.
After the defeat of the Jin Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty still didn’t find peace. It now had to face a stronger enemy, from Mongolia. When withdrawing the army from the Jin lands, the Southern Song Dynasty attempted to reoccupy the land grabbed by the Mongolian army while fighting as their allies, but they failed because of their weak military forces. At the same time, what the Sothern Song Dynasty had done became the excuse for the Mongolian’s southward invasion.
In 1235,
the Mongolian’s first southward invasion was beaten back. Later, they launched other attacks, all of which ended in failure because of the strong resistance of the Sothern Song Dynasty’s soldiers and people. In 1259, Mengge Kahn of the Mongolian army died. Hearing this, his younger brother, Kublai Kahn, who was fighting against the army of the Southern Song Dynasty in E’zhou (now in Wuhan City, Hubei Province), withdrew his army to seize the position of King of the Mongolian people at once. Jia Sidao, an official of the Southern Song Dynasty, didn’t lead the army to chase the Mongolian enemies, but instead he sent people to negotiate a peace contract with them. As a result, Kublai Kahn led the Mongolian army to return to the north without any further fighting.
beginning in 1235,
but they failed again and again because of the Song soldiers’ bravery. However, the Song court did not take the opportunity of the Mongolians’ withdrawal to recover the lost territory. Instead, the weak rulers of Song again initiated peace gestures, which foreshadowed the defeat of the Southern Song by the Mongolians.
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BRONZE & IRON MINT MARKS – NO DATE MARKS
|
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Reign Title
|
Date
|
Reverse Types
|
|
|
|
|
Bronze
|
Iron
|
|
|
|
|
CHIEN-YEN@
Jin yan tong bao
|
1127-1130
|
blank
CHUAN
|
blank
|
|
|
|
|
SHAO-HSING@
|
1131-1162
|
blank
crescent
crescent & dots
|
LI
|
|
|
|
|
LUNG-HSING@
|
1163-1164
|
blank
|
blank
|
|
|
|
|
CH’IEN-TAO@
|
1165-1173
|
blank
crescent & dot
CHENG
|
CHIUNG
T’UNG
|
|
|
|
|
SHUN-HSI
|
1174-1189
|
blank
T’UNG
CH’UAN
|
crescent & 2 dots
LI
CHIUNG
|
|
|
|
|
SHAO-HSI
|
1190-1194
|
|
crescent & 2 dots
|
|
|
|
|
CH’ING-YUAN
|
1195-1200
|
blank*
|
crescent & 2 dots
|
|
|
|
|
CHIA-T’AI
|
1201-1204
|
blank **
|
|
|
|
|
|
K’AI-HSI
|
1205-1207
|
|
blank
|
|
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
|
1208-1224
|
Ch’un/value 5
|
blank
crescent & 2 dots
TING/crescent & 2 dots
CH’UAN/value 5
LI/value 5
HUI/value 5
value 5
value 10
|
|
|
|
|
PAO-CH’ING
(using Ta-sung)
|
1225-1227
|
|
blank
|
|
|
|
|
SHAO-TING
|
1228-1233
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TUAN-P’ING
|
1234-1236
|
blank**
LI/value 10**
|
blank
CHIUNG/value 5
TING-WU/value 5
HUI/value5/SHI- SHANG
|
|
|
|
|
CHIA-HSI
|
1237-1240
|
blank **
blank *
|
|
|
|
|
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SHUN-YU
|
1241-1252
|
value 100
|
|
|
|
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PAO-YU
(as Huang-sung)
|
1253-1258
|
|
|
|
|
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K’AI-CHING
|
1259
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHING-TING
|
1260-1264
|
|
|
|
|
|
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HSIEN-SHUN
|
1265-1274
|
|
|
|
|
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* – for some types, blank reverses seem to indicate year one.
** – an unusual large coin, not part of the regular series.
|
COIN WITH REVERSE NUMBERS (USUALLY DATES)
(note that this list is currently far from complete)
|
|
Reign Title
|
Date
|
Metal
|
Mint
|
Year Marks Seen
|
|
|
|
CHIEN-YEN
|
1127-1130
|
bronze
|
blank
|
none
|
|
|
|
SHAO-HSING
|
1131-1162
|
bronze
|
blank
|
none
|
|
|
|
LUNG-HSING
|
1163-1164
|
bronze
|
blank
|
none
|
|
|
|
CH’IEN-TAO
|
1165-1173
|
bronze
|
blank
|
none
|
|
|
|
SHUN-HSI
|
1174-1189
|
bronze
|
blank
|
7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
9,11,13,14,15,16
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
14,15
|
|
|
|
SHAO-HSI
|
1190-1194
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
3,4,5
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
1,4,5
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3,4,5
|
|
|
|
CH’ING-YUAN
|
1195-1200
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
1,2,3,4,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
1,2,3,4,5,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3,4,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
CHUAN
|
5, 6-3, 7-3, 9, 6/73
|
|
|
|
iron
|
crescent
& 2 dots
|
1-5, 2-5, 3-5, 4-5
|
|
|
|
CHIA-T’AI
|
1201-1204
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
1,2
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Li
|
96 (probably not a date)
|
|
|
|
iron
|
CHUAN
|
1/83, 2/93, 3/40
|
|
|
|
K’AI-HSI
|
1205-1207
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Li
|
10-6 (or 16) (not a date)
|
|
|
|
iron
|
CHUAN
|
3/24
|
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
|
1208-1224
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14
|
|
|
|
iron
|
blank
|
3 above & below, 3 above,
|
|
|
|
iron
|
blank
|
2 (an unusual type)
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Li-chou
|
1
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Li
|
3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
1
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ting
|
2
|
|
|
|
iron
|
various
|
complex unusual series S-934-958
not part of the regular series.
|
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
as Shao-hsing
|
1208
|
iron
|
Li
|
5 (probably denon. mark)
|
|
|
|
iron
|
blank
|
5 (probably denon. mark)
|
|
|
|
PAO-CH’ING
(using Ta-sung)
|
1225-1227
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’uan
|
3
|
|
|
|
SHAO-TING
|
1228-1233
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
3
|
|
|
|
TUAN-P’ING
|
1234-1236
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1
|
|
|
|
CHIA-HSI
|
1237-1240
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4
|
|
|
|
SHUN-YU
|
1241-1252
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11
|
|
|
|
PAO-YU
(as Huang-sung)
|
1253-1258
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6
|
|
|
|
K’AI-CHING
|
1259
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1
|
|
|
|
CHING-TING
|
1260-1264
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5
|
|
|
|
HSIEN-SHUN
|
1265-1274
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
|
|
|
At the moment it appears the”crescent & dot” reverse may indicate value 2 coins,
and the “crescent & 2 dots” reverse value 3 coins.
|
SIZES AND PROBABLE DENOMINATIONS
|
|
Reign Title
|
Date
|
Alloy
|
mm.
|
Gr.
|
Prob. Denom.
|
|
|
CHIEN-YEN
|
1127-1130
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.7
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
21
|
5.0
|
value 1 (?)
|
|
|
SHAO-HSING
|
1131-1162
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.0
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
30
|
8.6
|
value 3 ?
|
|
|
iron
|
18
|
3.5
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
24
|
3.6
|
value 1
|
|
|
iron
|
27
|
6.5
|
value (?)
|
|
|
LUNG-HSING
|
1163-1164
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.2
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
7.5
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
18
|
4.3
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
7.8
|
value 2
|
|
|
CH’IEN-TAO
|
1165-1173
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
21
|
3.7
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
21
|
7.0
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
24
|
8.2
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
7.7
|
value 2
|
|
|
SHUN-HSI
|
1174-1189
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.0
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
25
|
3.8
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
27
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
18
|
3.0
|
value ?
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
6.5
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
9.0
|
value 3 (cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
iron
|
31
|
13.0
|
value 3 (cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
SHAO-HSI
|
1190-1194
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.4
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
7.2
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
23
|
4.9
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
27
|
7.1
|
value 2?
(1-cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
iron
|
31
|
10
|
value 3 (cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
CH’ING-YUAN
|
1195-1200
|
bronze
|
22
|
3.2
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
30
|
6.7
|
value 3 (?)
|
|
|
bronze
|
31
|
10.3
|
value 3
|
|
|
iron
|
24
|
4.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
6.7
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
30
|
9
|
value 3 (cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
iron
|
32
|
12
|
value 3 (3 mark)
|
|
|
CHIA-T’AI
|
1201-1204
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.2
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
29
|
6.4
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
34
|
10.7
|
value 5 or 10 ?
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
7.5
|
value 2 or 3
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
10
|
value 2 or 3 ?
|
|
|
iron
|
32
|
11
|
value 3 or 5 ?
|
|
|
K’AI-HSI
|
1205-1207
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.5
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
27
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
30
|
10.5
|
value 3 or 5 ?
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
as Shao-hsing
|
1208
|
iron
|
33
|
11.0
|
5 (5 mark)
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
|
1208-1224
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.25
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.5
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
33
|
14.0
|
value 5 or 10 ?
|
|
|
bronze
|
51
|
38.3
|
value 10 marked
|
|
|
iron
|
24
|
4.8
|
value 1
|
|
|
iron
|
27
|
7.2
|
value 2 ?
|
|
|
iron
|
33
|
9-13
|
value 3 or 5
|
|
|
iron
|
32
|
11-14
|
value 3
|
|
|
iron
|
34
|
10-14
|
value 3 or 5
|
|
|
PAO-CH’ING
(using Ta-sung)
|
1225-1227
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.5
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
29
|
6.3
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
7.7
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
31
|
12.8
|
value 3 ?
|
|
|
SHAO-TING
|
1228-1233
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.4
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
29
|
6.6
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
26
|
5.9
|
value 1 or 2
|
|
|
TUAN-P’ING
|
1234-1236
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.8
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
34
|
10.6
|
value 5 ?
|
|
|
bronze
|
40
|
26.6
|
value 10 marked
|
|
|
iron
|
25
|
7.2
|
value 1 or 2
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
10.9
|
value 2 or 3
|
|
|
iron
|
35
|
11.4
|
value 3 or 5
|
|
|
CHIA-HSI
|
1237-1240
|
bronze
|
22
|
3.6
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
27
|
6.7
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
35
|
15.1
|
value 5 (?)
|
|
|
bronze
|
48
|
40.0
|
value 10 marked
|
|
|
SHUN-YU
|
1241-1252
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
5.9
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
37
|
14.2
|
value 100 marked
|
|
|
bronze
|
50
|
28.4
|
value 100 marked
|
|
|
PAO-YU
(as Huang-sung)
|
1253-1258
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.0
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
29
|
5.5
|
value 2
|
|
|
K’AI-CHING
|
1259
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
27
|
7.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
CHING-TING
|
1260-1264
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.2
|
value 2
|
|
|
HSIEN-SHUN
|
1265-1274
|
bronze
|
22
|
3.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
4.9
|
value 2
|
|
|
UNUSUAL REVERSE TYPES
|
|
Schjoth #
|
Inscription
|
Possible Translations
or meaning
|
|
|
|
S-683, 687, bronze 2 cash
|
crescent
|
Possibly some type of mint mark. Could indicate the number 1 (or 1st mint). |
|
|
|
S-725, bronze 1 cash
|
crescent/dot
|
Some suggest this indicates a value 2 cash, but we no longer agree and believe it may be a mint mark although it could indicate 2 or (2nd mint). |
|
|
|
S-703, 727, 728, bronze 2 cash
|
crescent/dot
|
|
|
|
S-781, iron 2 cash
|
2 dots/crescent
|
Some suggest this indicates a value 3 cash but S-781 appears to be a value 2 cash. The number 3 (or 3rd mint) could be intended. |
|
|
|
S-783, 784, 785, 786, 787, 823, 830, 831, 832, 829, iron 3 cash
|
2 dots/crescent
|
|
|
|
S-784, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
crescent/2 dots,
fourth six
|
An usual series of the crescent/2 dots with additional marks. These are the only iron issues of this reign title not baring a clearly identifiable mint mark in this position occupied by the crescent/2 dots, leaving us will little doubt that this is also a mint mark). The secondary marks, running through two reign titles, form a continuous sequence of numbers from 47 to 54 if one accepts, as is apparent from S-785, 786 and 787, that the meaning is the same whether the characters are side by side at the bottom or on opposite sides of the hole.We have developed what we believe to be a strong theory as to the meaning. S-823 bares the crescent/2 dots reverse but no numeric marks giving a total of 5 types in the Ching-yuan title, which is a five year title. The three specimens in Chia-Tai title appear to be dated years 1, 2 and 3 so are sequential with those above, as are the numeric marks. This strongly suggest these numeric marks are annual sequential marks, suggesting #46 (S-784) was cast in AD 1191 (assuming the un-numbered example was cast before the numbering was started). Forty six years earlier was AD 1145 which is in the Shao-Hsing reign title where we see S-683-684-683-84 and S-686-88 which is the first occurrence of the thick crescent on a Southern Sung coin. This suggest these are annual sequential marks dating from when the mint was opened. For this theory to work, we must make one assumption in that Crescent, Crescent/dot and Crescent/2 dots must come under one authority, as the first occurrence does not use the Crescent/2 dots. This does fit with the concept that at least the early mint marks were actually marks of not individual mints, but of governmental districts possibly in charge of more than one mint (as discussed elsewhere). |
|
|
|
S-785, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
crescent/2 dots,
fourth seven
|
|
|
|
S-786, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
crescent/2 dots,
fourth eight
|
|
|
|
S-787, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
crescent/2 dots,
fourth nine
|
|
|
|
FD-1294, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
crescent/2 dots, fifty
|
|
|
|
S-830, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
crescent/2 dots,
fifty one
|
|
|
|
S-831, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
crescent/2 dots,
fifty two
|
|
|
|
S-832, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
crescent/2 dots,
fifty three
|
|
|
|
S-833, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
crescent/2 dots,
fifty four
|
|
|
|
S-824, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
Chuan, five
|
This is an odd series. Cast during a six year reign title, no number above six can be a year mark.The marks here are not as clear cut as on the crescent/2 dots series, but we can make a few speculations. First, as the Chuan mint mark resembles the number 3 turned on it’s side, it is possible that S-824 could also be read as 35, and S-827 as 38. One the crescent/2 dots type we have shown and the numbers either side of the hole should be read as if the hole is not present, so S-825 becomes 37 and S-826 becomes 36. The only problem is S-828 with would now read as having both 36 and 37 on it. In spite of this analysis, the meaning of these numbers is still unclear. (remember that this is only a theory and by no means proven. |
|
|
|
S-826, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
Chuan, six, three
|
|
|
|
S-828, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
six, Chuan,
thirty seven
|
|
|
|
S-825, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
Chuan, seven, thirty
|
|
|
|
S-827, iron 3 or 5 cash
|
nine, Chuan
|
|
|
|
S-854, iron 3 cash
|
one Chuan
thirty eight
|
Another unusual series. The one, two and three appear to be year marks. The thirty eight, thirty nine and fourth are uncertain but seem to be continuous with the thirty seven of the series above. The reverse marks clearly seem to be consecutive and not directly related to the reign title. FD-1238 and S-856 are the only two we have so far noted with the same year mark but different reverse marks. |
|
|
|
S-855, iron 3 cash
|
two Chuan
thirty nine
|
|
|
|
S-856, iron 3 cash
|
three Chuan, forty
|
|
|
|
FD-1238, iron 3 cash
|
three Chuan, forty one
|
|
|
|
S-873, iron 3 cash
|
Chuan, three, forty two
|
This coin continues the sequence of the two series above. A pattern is definitely here.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
The data collected in these charts is based on a limited number of sources. It is almost a certainty that more dates will eventually be added to the date chart, and that there may be denominations and possible mints that we have not yet come across. The current information should cover most issues but it is possible some new discoveries may cause us to re-evaluate some of our interpretations in the future.
The weights listed in this chart are only quick estimates based on the specimens in the Schjoth collection. It should be assumed that many of the coins were worn and possibly corroded (especially the iron) and that the average weight when cast would have been as much as 10% higher.
From these tables we are able to make the following observations:
1) There do not seem to be any examples of the same mint mark appearing on both bronze and iron coins during a reign title.
2) Early bronze coins sometimes have mint marks, and most later bronze coins have date marks, but be have not found an example where both occur together on a bronze coin.
3) The “mint” marks may be more complex then they first appear, and in some cases may not be true mint marks. At no more than eight in any one title, and in some cases only one is used, there seem to be too few mints to account for the numbers of coins that should have been needed. At times the Northern Sung at as many as twenty-six mints operating. With the loss of the Northern Territories, the Southern Sung would have had a smaller population, but they did occupy the most populous parts of China and the needs would have been cut no more than in half. Schjoth (page 34) notes that “Li”, “Chuan” and “Chiung” were all district names rather than distinct cities.
4) There must have been a major currency reform during the Shun Hsi reign title (AD 1174-1189). The use of mint marks on iron coins was greatly expanded sometime between 1174 and 1180. In 1180 date marks were introduced. It also appears that during this period the use of iron coins was greatly expanded.
5) The use of iron coins is greatly reduced at AD 1224 and seems to stop around AD 1230.
6) The normal working denominations and standards for bronze coins do not seem to have changed a great deal from the Northern Sung period. The basic one cash seems to been cast under most reign titles at a standard between 3 and 4 grams with the size early in the dynasty about 24 mm and gradually reducing to about 22 mm by the end of the dynasty. Most reign titles cast bronze 2 cash of a standard between 5.75 and 7.5 grams (also as in the Northern Sung) with the size varying between 27 and 30 mm, a slightly wider range than in the Northern Sung. A few reign titles cast bronze 5 and 10 cash coins, several of which are clearly marked as to their denomination, but in most cases are cast to a weight standard close to official standard (15-17 grams for a 5 cash and 30-35 grams for a 10 cash). Only in one instance were high denomination feduciary bronze coins cast (at a value of 100 cash).
7) At first glance the iron coins seem to work on a system similar to the Northern Sung system whereby size if important but weights vary considerably. We are still working on this part, but it appears that value 2 iron cash were cast at about 28-30 mm with weights abut 6.5 to 8 grams, about the same as the bronze value 2. Value 3 iron cash at about 31-33 mm but with weights between 8 and 13 grams. Something what were cast here, but not during the Northern Sung, were value 5 iron coin. There is little doubt about them as some types were clear marked as value 5. They tend to be about 34 mm 10 to 15 grams.
8) At first is appeared that the crescent/dot and 2 dots/crescent reverse types indicated value 2 and value 3 coins. A closer examination of the coins shows that this is probably not the case. It would imply the the crescent only types, such as 683 and 687 were value 1 cash, but those two are obviously 2 value 2 cash. S-725 bares the crescent/dot reverse but appears to be a 1 cash. While the 2 dots/crescent reverse usually occures on value 3 cash, S-781 is an example where the marks occure on a value 2 cash. The meaning of these marks still remains a mystery, but at the moment it appears that the most likely explanation is that they are mint marks of some type. We have noted that they only occur on bronze coins during the early period when other mint marks also appear on bronze coins. Later, when mint marks only occur on iron coins, these marks also only occur on iron coins. At the moment, this early draft of this site may have some types described with these marks listed as denomination marks, but these comments will be removed from the next draft.
Emperor KAO TSUNG
AD 1127-1162
Reign title: CHIEN-YEN, AD 1127-1131@
S-671, 673 Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CHIEN-YEN T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox and seal scripts. Reverse: blank. 23-24 mm.
S-672, Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CHIEN-YEN T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: “CHUAN” which Schjoth believes referes to Western Szechuan (probably Ch’eng-tu Fu mint). 22 mm.
S-674-676. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “CHIEN-YEN T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox and seal scripts. Reverse: blank. 28 mm. Average average 6.5 grams (ranging from 5.33 to 8.6 grams). Schjoth assigned a value of 3 cash to the 8.6 gram specimen all three are the same size and fit into the Northern Sung standard for a 2 cash.
F $9.00 VF $15.00@
N7404 Coin, China, Southern Sung Dynasty (AD 1127-1179), Emperor Kao Tsung (AD 1127-63). Currency of ‘Chien Yen period’ (Chien Yen T’ung Pao) (Ping Sing Collection 364).
S-677-678. Iron 1 cash. Obverse: “CHIEN-YEN T’UNG-PAO”in seal script. Reverse: blank. 20 m. Average 5.08 grams. These are very small coins, but weights fit with earlier Iron 1 cash. These need further study.
We believe the iron and bronze coins of similar size circulated at the same values, with the iron coin being fiduciary by a ratio of about 10 to 1 by weight. A discussion of the development of the iron coinage during the North Sung Dynasty can be found of that part of our site.
Reign title: SHAO-HSING, AD 1131-1162
S-679. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING YUAN-PAO”
in orthodox script. Reverse: blank. 24 mm. Schjoth’s specimen weight 2.81 grams.
S-680. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING YUAN-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: crescent. 24 mm. Schjoth’s specimen weight 3.07 grams.
S-681-689. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING YUAN-PAO” in seal script. Reverse: blank or with a variety of crescents and dots. 28-29 mm. Schjoth’s specimen weight 5.50 grams but include a number of relatively light weight specimens that may be contemporary counterfeits. It appears that the intended standard may have been somewhat over 6 grams.
|
SCRIPT
|
REVERSE
|
TOP
|
TOP/BOTTOM
|
TOP RIGHT
|
|
ORTHODOX
|
blank
|
crescent
|
crescent/dot
|
crescent
|
|
SEAL
|
blank
|
crescent
|
crescent/dot
|
|
This chart shows in interesting trend in that, with the exception of one rather oddly positioned crescent, there appears to be parallel development in the crescents and dots in both script styles. The exact meaning of this is not yet clear, and more types may exist, but we currently speculate that the crescents and dots are mint marks.
S-690, 691. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in seal and orthodox scripts. Reverse: blank. 29 mm. Schjoth had two specimens averaging 6.87 grams.
S-692. Iron 2 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: blank. 27 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 6.82 grams.
S-693. Iron 2 (or 1) cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: “LI”. 26 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 5.82 grams.
On this type, Schjoth (page 34) has recognized that the reverse mark “LI” is not a city name, but rather the name of a governmental area made up of parts of Szechuan and Shensi. This suggest that rather than a mint mark, it is a governing authority in charge of possibly several mints. It is possible this is also the case for the other Southern Sung “Mint Marks” that occur later in the series.
S-694. Iron 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: blank. 23 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 3.84 grams.
S-695. Iron 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: “LI”. 23 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 3.52 grams.
S-696. Iron 1 (?) cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: blank. 18 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 3.20 grams.
These small (under 22 mm) iron cash is something new to the Sung series. We cannot dismiss them as a counterfeit as similar coins were cast during the following reign titles. Further analysis is needed on these.
Emperor HSIAO TSUNG
AD 1163-1189
Reign title: LUNG-HSING, AD 1163-1164
Reign title: CH’IEN TAO, AD 1165-1173
T’UNG MINT
Hartill 17.150, iron 2 cash,”CH’IEN-TAO YUAN-PAO”, mint mark at the bottom, no date mark. Average (1 specimen) 26.0 mm, 4.69 grams.
VF $95.00
Reign title: SHUN HSI, AD 1174-1189
NO MINT MARK
S-725 variety, bronze 1 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Reverse: crescent and two dots at bottom.
gF $8.50
S-730, bronze 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, no year mark.
gF $7.00
MINT AND DATE MARKED COINS
Sometime in the first 6 years of Shun-hsi, the practice of putting Mint marks on the reverse was introduced for Iron but not bronze coins. The 7th year saw the introduction of regal dates on the reverse of almost all coins, bronze and iron. Schjoth (page 34) states the dates were added to stop illicit casting, and were successful in doing so. There has to be more to this than meets the eye. We see no reason why the practice would have affected counterfeiting by the general population, as they would have simply made coins bearing the date and mint marks. Since the counterfeiting stopped, we can assume the problem was not with the general public. On the other hand, when mint and date marks are combined, it makes it possible to identify the mint official responsible for any given issue. This would be a great deterrent to the casting of sub-standard coins by official mints.
The next question that is raised is why were mint marks not added to bronze coins. The obvious answer would appear to be that there was only one mint casting bronze coins, but is not certain. The bronze coins of this reign title are fairly common, and seem to exist in numbers far to large for the production of a single mint. Another possible answer is that bronze coins, being non-feduciary in nature, were not as easy a target for sub-standard casting and as tight of controls were not deemed necessary. This is an area that needs more research.
S-735, bronze 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Year-11.
F $6.00
S-735, bronze 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Year-11.
gVF $12.00
S-738, bronze 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Year-14.
aVF/F $7.00
CH’UN MINT
S-751, iron 2 cash “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Year-14.
gF $45.00
T’UNG MINT
NOT LISTED, like S-726 but iron 2 cash,
“SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, no year mark,
Reverse: mint mark at the top.
gF $40.00
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”,
Year-14. Reverse: mint mark at the top.
aVF $65.00
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”,
Year-15 (to left), Reverse: mint mark to the right and date to the left (unusual).
gF $75.00
Emperor KUANG TSUNG
AD 1190-1194
Reign title: SHAO-HSI, AD 1190-1194
CH’UN MINT
S-772, iron 1 cash, “SHAO-HSI T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VF/F $39.50
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHAO-HSI T’UNG-PAO”,
Year-3 to left, mint mark to the right, orthodox script.
VF/F $75.00
T’UNG MINT
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHAO-HSI T’UNG-PAO”,
mint mark at the top. There is no year mark but it may have been removed.
VF $10.00
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHAO-HSI T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VF/G $40.00
HAN MINT
It appears that the Han mint (in Hupei province) was opened in the first year of Shao-hsi (AD 1190). While Schjoth did not have one, we have owned an example of Han year-1.
Emperor NING TSUNG
AD 1195-1224
The coinage of Ning Tsung is by far the most interesting and diversified of the Sung Dynasties, and possibly any Chinese Emperor. During as 29 year reign he used 5 reign titles, issued prolifically in both bronze and iron, and made extensive use of mint and date marks. Schjoth lists about 180 different examples, which is by no means a complete listing of what must have existed.
.
Reign title: CH’ING-YUAN, AD 1195-1200
Schjoth (page 36) says “In the 3rd year of Ch’ing-yuan (A.D. 1197) the Shen-ch’uan mint cast ‘value three’ coins from the accumulated copper utensils obtained”. The coins referred to appear to be the larger copper issues, S-800-802, which do not bear mint marks. Schjoth has specimens date years 4, 5 and 6. This appears to be the same mint that cast a set of unusual iron coins (S-854-856) which appear to be dated years 1, 2 and 3. This is the first evidence we have found that during a single reign title a mint cast both non-mint-marked copper coins and mint marked iron coins, but it should be noted that there is no overlap in the date marks, so there is still no evidence of both being cast at one mint at the same time.
CH’UN MINT
S-806, iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
F $35.00
S-806, iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
gF $40.00
NOT LISTED, iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-6.
VF/F $40.00
S-814, iron 2 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-3.
VF/VG $35.00
S-816, iron 2 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-6.
F $40.00
HAN MINT
NOT LISTED iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-4.
aF $29.50
T’UNG MINT
NOT LISTED, iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VG/F $25.00
NOT LISTED,iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VG-F $25.00
S-812, iron 2 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VG-F $29.50
CHUAN MINT
Schjoth 824-828 represent an unusual series of iron coins. The meaning of Chuan mint mark is fairly clear but there are other characters of uncertain meaning. S-824 has a “5” to the left which may or may not be a date mark. S-825 as two marks, 7 at right and 30 at left (formed by a combined 3 and 10), neither of which can be a date mark as this title only lasted six years. S-826 has a “6” at the left and “3” at the right. Either one, but not both, could be date marks but S-825 and S-827 suggest this series is not dated. S-827 has a “9” at the top beside “Chuan”, which cannot be a date mark. S-828 has a “6” at the top beside “Chuan” and the same 7 and 30 marks seen on S-826, at the bottom. The meaning of these is unclear, but it should be noted that a similar series (S-854-856), also of the chuan mint, have similar marks, as does S-873. It appears that the Chuan mint used a different system than other mints. At 33 mm, these coins are larger than the normal series (although the same as S-829-834 discussed next). It is possible they are some type of emergency issues but we are as yet unable to provide an explanation of them.
IRON COINS WITHOUT MINTMARKS
Schjoth 829-833 are another odd series of iron coin. Since they are also 33 mm, they are probably related to S-824-828. Schjoth lists these as of unclear meaning, but we have a theory about them. All have the crescent with 2 dots at the top, which Schjoth suggests means value 3 cash, which we will accept for the moment (but are uncertain about). The marks at the bottom 1-5 (or 15), 2-5 (or 25), 3-5 (or 35), 4-5 (or 45) and 6-5 (or 65). Note there is no 5-5 but there is a type with no numbers on the reverse that may occupy that position in the series (the Chinese of this period did not like to repeat characters on coins, as can be seen from some unusual reign titles). Also note we have not yet documented any year-5 iron coins from other mints. It is possible that in year 5 an experiment was tried whereby the 1, 2, 3, 4, blank=5, and 6 indicate the mints of issue. Other explanations are possible, including that the numbers indicate furnaces (workshops) with one central mint. It has also been suggested that these are mould series marks, but as non-reusable sand molds were probably used, and every mould was different, mold numbers would be pointless.
At first glance, S-823 to 833 all appear to be value 3 cash. Some bare the crescent with 3 dots mark which may indicate value 3. There seem to be two weight standards in use. S-823-829 are all in the 11 to 13 grams range while 830 to 833 are at a 9 to 10 gram range. The 9 to 10 grams coins have no mint marks but the crescent with 2 dots mark at the top, with double digit mark at the bottom composed a 5 on the right and A 1, 2, 3 or 4 on the left. This confused the issue slightly and needs to be given more consideration. The heavier coins, S-823-829 are years 5, 6, 7 and 8 as well as one with no date mark.
Reign title: CHIA-T’AI, AD 1201-1204
S-843. Bronze 3 cash. Obverse : CHAI T’AI TUNG PAO (read clockwise from the top). Reverse : blank. Average (1 specimen) 34.6 mm, 10.54 grams.
S-852 is shown in Schjoth’s illustration as a blank reverse, but in the text he notes it is a blurred reverse, indication something was there.
S-853 is an unusual coin. It has the “LI” mint mark at the top and the numbers 9 and 6 (or 96) at the bottom. Neither digit can be a date. This seems to be related to S-829-833 above although it is not over-sized as they were. We do not yet have an explanation this.
S-854-856 are also unusual. On the top of the reverses they all have the Chuan mint mark with the digits 1, 2 and 3 beside. This appear to be year marks. At the bottom they each have another double digit mark, 8-3 (or 83), 93 (or 93) and 10-4 (or 40). As yet we do not have an explanation for them.
Reign title: K’AI-HSI, AD 1205-1207
BRONZE ISSUES
Under the K’ai-Hsi title bronze coins were issued in both the 1 and 2 cash denomination, with date marks but not mint marks. The 1 cash average (3 specimens) 3.44 grams, 24 mm. The 2 cash average (3 specimens) 5.73 grams, 28 mm.
S-857. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : “Yuan” for year-1 (AD 1205). Value not yet recorded.
S-858. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : Year mark for year-2 (AD 1206). F $4.00 VF $6.50
S-859. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : Year mark for year-3 (AD 1207). Value not yet recorded.
S-860. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : “Yuan” for year-1 (AD 1205). Value not yet recorded.
S-861. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : Year mark for year-2 (AD 1206). &Value not yet recorded.
S-862. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : Year mark for year-3 (AD 1207). Value not yet recorded.
IRON ISSUES
The iron issues of the K’ai-hsi period are for the most part fairly standard. There are issues for year 1, 2 and 3 from each of the three principle mints of T’ung, Han and Ch’un, but only in the two cash denomination.
S-863 to 871. Iron 3 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : date and mint mark. These will be written up at some future date.
Schjoth listed the following three issues that do not fit the standard pattern but appear to be of a 3 cash denomination.
S-872. Iron 3 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : blank. Average (1 specimen) 10.93 grams. The blank reverse on this specimen seems rather odd and does not fit with other issues of this period. I suspect Schjoth’s specimen was simply too corroded and what ever was on the reverse was not visible. Value not yet determined.
S-873. Iron 3 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : “SAN CH’UAN SSU ERH” (thee Ch’uan twenty four). It seem likely that 3 Ch’uan means third year at Ch’uan mint, but the meaning of the 24 is as yet unclear (Schjoth speculates it is a mold number that seem unlikely to me). Average (1 specimen) 11.58 grams. value not yet determined.
S-874. Iron 3 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : “LI LIU SHIH” (LI sixty). LI may be the mark for the Shao-Hsing mint in Li-chou. The meaning of the number sixty is as yet uncertain. Average (1 specimen) 9.35 grams.
Reign title: CHIA-TING, AD 1208-1224
S-903-904 iron only unusual in that the Li-chou mint mark is written in full rather than with only the Character for LI.
S-905 iron is unusual as it does not have a mint mark and the date mark is at the top. It is a typical type for an bronze coin. It should be checked to see if it is really iron.
S-934-958 are a complex series of coins that will need a lot of study to sort out. This will have to wait until later.
Emperor LI TSUNG, AD 1225-1264
Not that Schjoth (top of page 40) notes that Li tsung’s government was over-burdened with the difficulties of war. This must be considered when interpreting this next series of coins. It might help explain the unusual series S-983-990. Is the stopping iron issues (from S-991 on) related to this war?
Reign title: PAO-CH’ING, AD 1225-1227
To use the Pao-ch’ing reign title on a coin would have required the character for “Pao” to occur twice on the same coin. It had long been established that characters were generally not repeated on the obverse of Chinese coins, so in a tradition stating much earlier, an inscription commemorating the Sung Dynasty was chosen. In this case it was “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO” which means roughly “coinage of the great Sung dynasty”.
Schjoth seems to think that coins with the “Pao-ch’ing” inscriptions were cast in the first few months of this title, but he did not have a specimen and we have never seen one. Since is would have gone against long standing tradition to have cast such coins, we would want to examine any such specimens for authenticity before including them in this listing.
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.45 gr
|
2
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
29 mm
|
6.29 gr
|
3
|
|
Iron 2 cash
|
29 mm
|
7.74 gr
|
2
|
|
Iron 3 cash
|
31 mm
|
12.83 gr
|
1
|
| |
|
|
|
BRONZE COINS
S-959-960, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 3 been documented (we once had the year 2 that Schjoth was missing).
VF $27.50
S-961-963,bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Years 2 and 3 have been documented. Schjoth had a year three with a crescent in the bottom right corner. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
IRON COINS
NO MINT MARK
S-965 iron 2 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: blank. This coin is an anomaly for this period, as blank reverses are not normal on iron coins. Sometimes the reverses are weak on these and if the coin was in poor condition, possibly not legible. This coin should be examined very closely. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
S-966 iron 2 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “LI-CHOU HSING-SHIH” (the currency of Li-Chou). Not that these is not date on this type. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
CH’UAN MINT
S-964 iron 3 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “CH’UAN SAN” (Ch’uan mint year 3). Only year 3 has been documented but we would expect others to exist. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Schjoth listed all three of these iron coins as value 3 cash, but both the sizes and the weights clear indicate that two different denominations were intended
Reign title: SHAO-TING, AD 1228-1233
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.37 gr
|
7
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
29 mm
|
6.65 gr
|
6
|
|
Iron 1 cash
|
25 mm
|
5.89 gr
|
1
|
| |
|
|
|
BRONZE COINS
S-967-972, 975 bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-TING T’UNG PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 6 been documented.
F $5.00 VF $9.00
S-973, 974, 976-979 bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-TING T’UNG PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Only year 1 has been documented. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Schjoth describes his example #975 as a clipped two cash, but if the diameter within the rims are drawn accurately, we so no reason to believe it was not cast as a one cash.
IRON COINS
CH’I-CHUN MINT
S-980 iron 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-TING T’UNG PAO”. Reverse: “CH’UN SAN” (Ch’un mint year 3). Only year 3 has been documented but we would expect others to exist. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Reign title: TUAN-P’ING, AD 1234-1236
This is the last Southern Sung reign title under which iron coins were cast, and for which mint marks were used.
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
22 mm
|
3.76 gr
|
1*
|
|
Bronze 5 cash
|
34 mm
|
10.64 gr
|
1
|
|
Bronze 10 cash
|
40 mm
|
26.58 gr
|
1
|
|
Iron 1 cash
|
25 mm
|
7.19 gr
|
1
|
|
Iron 2 cash
|
29 mm
|
10.92 gr
|
1
|
|
Iron 5 cash
|
35 mm
|
11.36 gr
|
1
|
* One of the two specimens Schjoth had is listed as weighing 5.91 grams, which is so far off the usual standard we have to assume the listing is an error and have only included one of the specimens in the weight calculation. Hopefully we will be able to locate more specimens in the near future.
BRONZE COINAGE
S-981-982, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Only year 1 has been documented. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
S-983, bronze 5 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: blank. A recent specimen we handled was 35.5 mm, 10.4 grams. This is a fairly common type.
F $15.00 VF $25.00
S-984, bronze 10 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “LI CHE SHIH” (Li-chou value 10). We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Schjoth (page 39) suggest this is a bronze trial casting for an iron type. As it bears a mint mark this is possible, but as of yet we have not seen any evidence for iron examples having been issued. The presence of bronze value 10 cash coins in the next reign title, as well as under Chia-ting (AD 1208-1224), suggest it was more likely was intended as a bronze 10 cash. The mint mark makes it an anomaly amoung bronze coins of this period, but many of the coins of this reign title are unusual types.
IRON COINAGE
The iron coins of this reign are unusual in that none of the specimens we have so far documented bear dates, and only some of them bear mint marks. This shows some type of coinage reform was underway, which seems to have resulted in a total stop to the issue of iron coins by the end of this period.
CHIUNG MINT
S-985, iron 5 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “CHIUNG WU” (Chiung mint value 5). We have not yet determined a value for type.
TING-CHOU MINT
S-986, iron 5 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “TING-WU PEI-SHANG” (value five of Ting-chou, upper north). We have not yet determined a value for this type.
HUI (MIN) MINT
S-988, iron 5 cash. Obverse: TUAN-P’ING T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: “HUI-WU HSI-SHANG” (value five of Hui Mint, upper western). We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Schjoth illustrates both S-986 and 988 as being without rims, but makes no comment about this. We assume that his specimen was just in very poor condition, which is not unusual for iron coins. Both types have reverse inscriptions which are not yet understood. Like some other South Sung Iron coins of this general period, there is a reference to a geographic direction and a rank with these as upper, S-1000 as second. We are not sure if his translation is correct and wonder if upper could also mean something like main, first or primary, in which case we might take these to mean that the mint mark lists the governmental office in charge and that the secondary mark referes either to a specific mint, or a workshop within a mint. This needs more research and the help of a better translator.
NO MINT MARKS
S-989, iron 1 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. We have not yet determined a value for this type yet.
Schjoth refers to this as a 2 cash but at 25 mm it is far more likely to have been intended as a 1 cash. At 7.19 grams it a little heavy, but all the evidence indicates that size is far more important then weight in determining denomination (see our discussion of size and weights under the Northern Sung dynasty) and it is not unusual for iron coins to be significantly heavier than bronze coins of the same size. (the same applies to the 2 cash below).
S-990, iron 2 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Schjoth refers to this as a 3 cash but at 29 mm it is far more likely to have been intended as a 2 cash. We have not yet determined a value for this type yet.
S-987, iron 5 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: blank. We have not yet determined a value for this type yet.
Reign title: CHIA HSI, AD 1237-1240
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
22 mm
|
3.58gr
|
3
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
27 mm
|
6.66 gr
|
5
|
|
Bronze 5 cash
|
37 mm
|
15.75 gr
|
3
|
|
Bronze 10 cash
|
48 mm
|
40.04 gr
|
1
|
S-991-993, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CHIA-HSI T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 4 have been documented.
VG $3.50 F $5.00
S-994-998, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “CHIA-HSI T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 4 have been documented, plus a year 2 with a crescent at the top. We have not yet determined a value for these.
S-999, bronze 5 cash. Obverse: “CHIA-HSI CHUNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. We recently had a two specimens, both of 37 mm. The average weight of thee specimens was 15.75 grams. The specimens we have had were well cast with bold deep characters.
F $50.00 VF $75.00
Schjoth considered these to be value 3 cash, but at 35-37 mm and about 16 grams, it is much larger than the 31-32 mm and 10.74 grams one would expect (based on a average 3.58 for the one cash) but only slightly below the range one would expect for a value 5 cash. The next issue, S-1000, is clearly intended to be a value 10 cash, and at 40.0 grams is just at the upper limit for a full weight 10 cash, we feel it is safe to assume S-999 was intended as a non-fiduciary 5 cash.
S-1000, bronze 10 cash. Obverse: “CHIA-HSI T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: denomination mark for 10 at the top with “HSI ERH” at the bottom. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
As the weight of this issue is consistent with a 10 cash, we so no reason not to believe that the “10” at the top of this coin is not a mark of denomination. The ‘HSI ERH” at the bottom is more of a mystery. Schjoth translates it to “Western second (series)”, the meaning of this is as yet uncertain. We can speculate that this is a type of mintmark. Earlier we mentioned that some of the “mint marks” are in fact the names of governmental admistrative districts, rather than specific mints, and that it is possible that several mints may have opperated withing each of these areas. It is possible that the term “Western second series” is a designation of a specific mint within one of these areas.
Reign title: SHUN-YU, AD 1241-1252
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.09 gr
|
10
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
28 mm
|
5.87 gr
|
10
|
|
Bronze 100 cash
|
37 mm
|
14.22 gr
|
1
|
|
Bronze 100 cash
|
50 mm
|
28.41 gr
|
1
|
S-1001-1010, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “SHUN-YU YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 12 have been documented
VG $3.50 F $5.00 VF $9.00
S-1011-1021, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “SHUN-YU YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 have been documented. We have not yet determined a value for these.
S-1022-1023, bronze 100 cash. Obverse: “SHUN-YU YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating the denomination. These do not have year marks. We have had one example of the smaller version in
gF 195.00.
S-1022 is half the weight of S-1023. It may be significant that that S-1022 is about the same standard as S-999 (probably a 5 cash), and S-1023 is about the same as S-1000 (10 cash), both of the previous reign title. The question is why would such fiduciary issues be necessary. A study of the history of this reign title might suggest something. The most likely cause would be an economic crisis brought on by war. It is likely the two sizes date to different parts of the reign, but without date marks we may never know for sure.
Reign title: PAO-YU, AD 1253-1258
Coins of this reign title us the inscription “HUANG-SUNG YUAN-PAO” which means “the currency of the Imperial Sung”. This was done was using Pao-yu would require repeating the character for Pao, which was considered to be incorrect. A similar situation occurs on some coins of the Northern Sung period.
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23.0 mm
|
3.00 gr
|
7
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
29.1 mm
|
5.54 gr
|
6
|
S-1024-1029, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “HUANG-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years 1 to 6 have been documented.
F $4.50
S-1030-1035, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “HUANG-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years 1 to 6 have been documented.
F $6.00 VF $9.00
Reign title: K’AI-CHING, AD 1259
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.13 gr
|
1
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
27 mm
|
6.97 gr
|
1
|
S-1036, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “K’AI-CH’ING T’UAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark for Year-1. We have not yet determined a value for these.
S-1037, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “K’AI-CH’ING T’UAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark for Year-1. We have not yet determined a value for these.
Reign title: CHING-TING, AD 1260-1264
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.06 gr
|
4
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
28 mm
|
6.19 gr
|
7
|
S-1038-1041, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CHING-TING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Years -1, 2, 3 and 4 are known.
VG $3.50 F $6.00 VF $8.50
S-1042-1048, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “CHING-TING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 5 have been documented. As well, Schjoth has one example of year 4 with a crescent at the right. We have not yet determined a value for these.
Emperor TU TSUNG
AD 1265-1274
Tu Tsung was the last emperor of the Sung dynasty, ruling for 10 years with only one reign title.
Reign title: HSIEN-SHUN, AD 1265-1274
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
22 mm
|
3.11 gr
|
6
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
28 mm
|
4.86
|
9
|
S-1049-1054, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “HSIEN-SHUN YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Years -1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 are known. We have not yet determined a value for these.
S-1055-1063, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “HSIEN-SHUN YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 8 have been documented. As well, Schjoth has one example of year 4 with a crescent at the right. We have not yet determined a value for these.
The current data suggest that there was a weight reduction in the 2 cash, from about 6.2 to 4.9 grams. We need to see more specimens to be sure this is really the case, but if it is, it may have been a measure take as the Mongols were closing in.
BRONZE CURRENCY BARS
Schjoth lists these as talley sticks, which we take to mean they were used to keep track of accounts. The inscriptions state they were “current” which clearly indicated they circulated and were therefore money. Similar items, but of bamboo, were made and circulated at the end of the Ching Dynasty and early in the Republic.
It is not clear when, or by whom, these were issued, but Schjoth (page 40) indicates that Lin-an-fu (now Hangchow) only had that name from AD 1129 until the end of the Sung period. If this is correct, then these must have been cast during the Southern Sung Dynasty.
S-1064, bronze 500 cash currency bar. Obverse: “LIN-AN-FU HSING-YUNG” (current in Lin-an Prefecture”. Reverse: “CHU WU PAI WEN SHENG” (Value five hundred cash with a reduction). 22×70 mm, 26.14 grams. No value yet determined.
S-1064a, bronze currency bar. Obverse: “LIN-AN-FU HSING-YUNG” (current in Lin-an Prefecture”. Reverse: “CHU WU PAI WEN SHENG” (Value two hundred cash with a reduction). 20×65 mm, 18.80 grams. No value yet determined.
The statement that they are valued with a reduction is something we do not yet understand. We have seen a number of these offered for sale in recent years. In our opinion, none that we examined were genuine.
AVERAGE WEIGHTS
We have decided to put a chart of the denominations, sizes and weights under each reign title. When the listing is complete the larger table of this information will be eliminated from the site. It this formate proves effective, will will incorporate the it into other parts of the site. Each of these tables has a heading for “#” at the end. This refers to the number of specimens used to determine the average weight.
DENOMINATIONS
The bronze denominations used during this dynasty are similar to those used during the Northern Sung dynasty with the additions that there are some non-feduciary 5 and 10 cash issues, as well as one issue of feduciary 100 cash.
A minor difference occurs in the bronze 1 cash in that, while the Northern Sung bronze 1 cash are generally about 24 mm throughout the dynasty, the Southern Sung issues vary between 22 and 25 mm, although there is usually a consistent size within any one reign title and thought, no matter what size, the average weights seem to have remained fairly consistent with an intended weight standard somewhere just over 3 grams.
The iron denominations are very different than those used during the Northern Sung. They are still all feduciary issues, but there seems to have been more acceptance of them as a regular part of the currency although we still have some questions about this. Iron was only issued prolifically during the middle years of the dynasty with no iron issues during the last few reign titles, and there were regular issues of 1 and 2 cash, as well as fairly regular issues of 3 and 5 cash. As many of these issues have survived in fairly large numbers, we have to assume that they were not recalled and melted for scrap metal as the Northern sung issues above 1 cash seem to have been (and are thus much rarer).
MINTS
Many Southern Sung coins, and in particular the iron coins, have actual mint marks on them. We are just beginning to build this section, and will be adding additional mints as images of the mint marks become available.
| |
T’UNG
Refers to the T’ung-an district in Fuken.
|
Dates
Many Southern Sung coins, have regnal date marks indicating how many years into the particular reign title the coin was minted. From these we can calculate the exact year of issue, of any coin with such a mark. The date marks we have so far imaged are below, and we will be adding more as become available.
| |
YEAR 2
|
| |
YEAR 3
|
| |
YEAR 5
|
| |
YEAR 6
|
VALUATIONS
For many type we have not provided a valuation. This does not mean that the type is rare or overly valuable. It simply means we have not found what we feel is an acceptable valuation for the type. In other cases, where a valuation is given for a description which included several year variation, the valuation is for the commonest year that we have handled. If we determine that another year is especially rare or valuable, we will make not of it.
All of our valuations are in Canadian dollars,
which at the time I last updated this are virtually on part with the US dollar.
|
BRONZE & IRON MINT MARKS – NO DATE MARKS
|
|
Reign Title
|
Date
|
Reverse Types
|
|
|
|
|
Bronze
|
Iron
|
|
|
|
|
CHIEN-YEN
|
1127-1130
|
blank
CHUAN
|
blank
|
|
|
|
|
SHAO-HSING
|
1131-1162
|
blank
crescent
crescent & dots
|
LI
|
|
|
|
|
LUNG-HSING
|
1163-1164
|
blank
|
blank
|
|
|
|
|
CH’IEN-TAO
|
1165-1173
|
blank
crescent & dot
CHENG
|
CHIUNG
T’UNG
|
|
|
|
|
SHUN-HSI
|
1174-1189
|
blank
T’UNG
CH’UAN
|
crescent & 2 dots
LI
CHIUNG
|
|
|
|
|
SHAO-HSI
|
1190-1194
|
|
crescent & 2 dots
|
|
|
|
|
CH’ING-YUAN
|
1195-1200
|
blank*
|
crescent & 2 dots
|
|
|
|
|
CHIA-T’AI
|
1201-1204
|
blank **
|
|
|
|
|
|
K’AI-HSI
|
1205-1207
|
|
blank
|
|
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
|
1208-1224
|
Ch’un/value 5
|
blank
crescent & 2 dots
TING/crescent & 2 dots
CH’UAN/value 5
LI/value 5
HUI/value 5
value 5
value 10
|
|
|
|
|
PAO-CH’ING
(using Ta-sung)
|
1225-1227
|
|
blank
|
|
|
|
|
SHAO-TING
|
1228-1233
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TUAN-P’ING
|
1234-1236
|
blank**
LI/value 10**
|
blank
CHIUNG/value 5
TING-WU/value 5
HUI/value5/SHI- SHANG
|
|
|
|
|
CHIA-HSI
|
1237-1240
|
blank **
blank *
|
|
|
|
|
|
SHUN-YU
|
1241-1252
|
value 100
|
|
|
|
|
|
PAO-YU
(as Huang-sung)
|
1253-1258
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K’AI-CHING
|
1259
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHING-TING
|
1260-1264
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HSIEN-SHUN
|
1265-1274
|
|
|
|
|
|
* – for some types, blank reverses seem to indicate year one.
** – an unusual large coin, not part of the regular series.
|
COIN WITH REVERSE NUMBERS (USUALLY DATES)
(note that this list is currently far from complete)
|
|
Reign Title
|
Date
|
Metal
|
Mint
|
Year Marks Seen
|
|
|
|
CHIEN-YEN
|
1127-1130
|
bronze
|
blank
|
none
|
|
|
|
SHAO-HSING
|
1131-1162
|
bronze
|
blank
|
none
|
|
|
|
LUNG-HSING
|
1163-1164
|
bronze
|
blank
|
none
|
|
|
|
CH’IEN-TAO
|
1165-1173
|
bronze
|
blank
|
none
|
|
|
|
SHUN-HSI
|
1174-1189
|
bronze
|
blank
|
7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
9,11,13,14,15,16
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
14,15
|
|
|
|
SHAO-HSI
|
1190-1194
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
3,4,5
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
1,4,5
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3,4,5
|
|
|
|
CH’ING-YUAN
|
1195-1200
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
1,2,3,4,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
1,2,3,4,5,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3,4,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
CHUAN
|
5, 6-3, 7-3, 9, 6/73
|
|
|
|
iron
|
crescent
& 2 dots
|
1-5, 2-5, 3-5, 4-5
|
|
|
|
CHIA-T’AI
|
1201-1204
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
1,2
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Li
|
96 (probably not a date)
|
|
|
|
iron
|
CHUAN
|
1/83, 2/93, 3/40
|
|
|
|
K’AI-HSI
|
1205-1207
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Li
|
10-6 (or 16) (not a date)
|
|
|
|
iron
|
CHUAN
|
3/24
|
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
|
1208-1224
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14
|
|
|
|
iron
|
blank
|
3 above & below, 3 above,
|
|
|
|
iron
|
blank
|
2 (an unusual type)
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Li-chou
|
1
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Li
|
3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
T’ung
|
1
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Han
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ting
|
2
|
|
|
|
iron
|
various
|
complex unusual series S-934-958
not part of the regular series.
|
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
as Shao-hsing
|
1208
|
iron
|
Li
|
5 (probably denon. mark)
|
|
|
|
iron
|
blank
|
5 (probably denon. mark)
|
|
|
|
PAO-CH’ING
(using Ta-sung)
|
1225-1227
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’uan
|
3
|
|
|
|
SHAO-TING
|
1228-1233
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6
|
|
|
|
iron
|
Ch’un
|
3
|
|
|
|
TUAN-P’ING
|
1234-1236
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1
|
|
|
|
CHIA-HSI
|
1237-1240
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4
|
|
|
|
SHUN-YU
|
1241-1252
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11
|
|
|
|
PAO-YU
(as Huang-sung)
|
1253-1258
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6
|
|
|
|
K’AI-CHING
|
1259
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1
|
|
|
|
CHING-TING
|
1260-1264
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5
|
|
|
|
HSIEN-SHUN
|
1265-1274
|
bronze
|
blank
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
|
|
|
At the moment it appears the”crescent & dot” reverse may indicate value 2 coins,
and the “crescent & 2 dots” reverse value 3 coins.
|
SIZES AND PROBABLE DENOMINATIONS
|
|
Reign Title
|
Date
|
Alloy
|
mm.
|
Gr.
|
Prob. Denom.
|
|
|
CHIEN-YEN
@
|
1127-1130
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.7
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.0@
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
21
|
5.0
|
value 1 (?)
|
|
|
SHAO-HSING
|
1131-1162
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.0
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
30
|
8.6
|
value 3 ?
|
|
|
iron
|
18
|
3.5
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
24
|
3.6
|
value 1
|
|
|
iron
|
27
|
6.5
|
value (?)
|
|
|
LUNG-HSING
|
1163-1164
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.2
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
7.5
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
18
|
4.3
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
7.8
|
value 2
|
|
|
CH’IEN-TAO
|
1165-1173
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
21
|
3.7
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
21
|
7.0
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
24
|
8.2
|
value (?)
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
7.7
|
value 2
|
|
|
SHUN-HSI
|
1174-1189
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.0
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
25
|
3.8
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
27
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
18
|
3.0
|
value ?
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
6.5
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
9.0
|
value 3 (cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
iron
|
31
|
13.0
|
value 3 (cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
SHAO-HSI
|
1190-1194
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.4
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
7.2
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
23
|
4.9
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
27
|
7.1
|
value 2?
(1-cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
iron
|
31
|
10
|
value 3 (cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
CH’ING-YUAN
|
1195-1200
|
bronze
|
22
|
3.2
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
30
|
6.7
|
value 3 (?)
|
|
|
bronze
|
31
|
10.3
|
value 3
|
|
|
iron
|
24
|
4.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
6.7
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
30
|
9
|
value 3 (cres\2 dots)
|
|
|
iron
|
32
|
12
|
value 3 (3 mark)
|
|
|
CHIA-T’AI
|
1201-1204
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.2
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
29
|
6.4
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
34
|
10.7
|
value 5 or 10 ?
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
7.5
|
value 2 or 3
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
10
|
value 2 or 3 ?
|
|
|
iron
|
32
|
11
|
value 3 or 5 ?
|
|
|
K’AI-HSI
|
1205-1207
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.5
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
27
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
28
|
6.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
30
|
10.5
|
value 3 or 5 ?
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
as Shao-hsing
|
1208
|
iron
|
33
|
11.0
|
5 (5 mark)
|
|
|
CHIA-TING
|
1208-1224
|
bronze
|
24
|
3.25
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.5
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
33
|
14.0
|
value 5 or 10 ?
|
|
|
bronze
|
51
|
38.3
|
value 10 marked
|
|
|
iron
|
24
|
4.8
|
value 1
|
|
|
iron
|
27
|
7.2
|
value 2 ?
|
|
|
iron
|
33
|
9-13
|
value 3 or 5
|
|
|
iron
|
32
|
11-14
|
value 3
|
|
|
iron
|
34
|
10-14
|
value 3 or 5
|
|
|
PAO-CH’ING
(using Ta-sung)
|
1225-1227
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.5
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
29
|
6.3
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
7.7
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
31
|
12.8
|
value 3 ?
|
|
|
SHAO-TING
|
1228-1233
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.4
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
29
|
6.6
|
value 2
|
|
|
iron
|
26
|
5.9
|
value 1 or 2
|
|
|
TUAN-P’ING
|
1234-1236
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.8
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
34
|
10.6
|
value 5 ?
|
|
|
bronze
|
40
|
26.6
|
value 10 marked
|
|
|
iron
|
25
|
7.2
|
value 1 or 2
|
|
|
iron
|
29
|
10.9
|
value 2 or 3
|
|
|
iron
|
35
|
11.4
|
value 3 or 5
|
|
|
CHIA-HSI
|
1237-1240
|
bronze
|
22
|
3.6
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
27
|
6.7
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
35
|
15.1
|
value 5 (?)
|
|
|
bronze
|
48
|
40.0
|
value 10 marked
|
|
|
SHUN-YU
|
1241-1252
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
5.9
|
value 2
|
|
|
bronze
|
37
|
14.2
|
value 100 marked
|
|
|
bronze
|
50
|
28.4
|
value 100 marked
|
|
|
PAO-YU
(as Huang-sung)
|
1253-1258
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.0
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
29
|
5.5
|
value 2
|
|
|
K’AI-CHING
|
1259
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
27
|
7.0
|
value 2
|
|
|
CHING-TING
|
1260-1264
|
bronze
|
23
|
3.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
6.2
|
value 2
|
|
|
HSIEN-SHUN
|
1265-1274
|
bronze
|
22
|
3.1
|
value 1
|
|
|
bronze
|
28
|
4.9
|
value 2
|
|
|
UNUSUAL REVERSE TYPES
|
|
Schjoth #
|
Inscription
|
Possible Translations
or meaning
|
|
|
|
S-683, 687, bronze 2 cash
|
crescent
|
Possibly some type of mint mark. Could indicate the number 1 (or 1st mint). |
|
|
|
S-725, bronze 1 cash
|
crescent/dot
|
Some suggest this indicates a value 2 cash, but we no longer agree and believe it may be a mint mark although it could indicate 2 or (2nd mint). |
|
|
|
S-703, 727, 728, bronze 2 cash
|
crescent/dot
|
|
|
|
S-781, iron 2 cash
|
2 dots/crescent
|
Some suggest this indicates a value 3 cash but S-781 appears to be a value 2 cash. The number 3 (or 3rd mint) could be intended. |
|
|
|
S-783, 784, 785, 786, 787, 823, 830, 831, 832, 829, iron 3 cash
|
2 dots/crescent
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S-784, iron 3 or 5 cash
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crescent/2 dots,
fourth six
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An usual series of the crescent/2 dots with additional marks. These are the only iron issues of this reign title not baring a clearly identifiable mint mark in this position occupied by the crescent/2 dots, leaving us will little doubt that this is also a mint mark). The secondary marks, running through two reign titles, form a continuous sequence of numbers from 47 to 54 if one accepts, as is apparent from S-785, 786 and 787, that the meaning is the same whether the characters are side by side at the bottom or on opposite sides of the hole.We have developed what we believe to be a strong theory as to the meaning. S-823 bares the crescent/2 dots reverse but no numeric marks giving a total of 5 types in the Ching-yuan title, which is a five year title. The three specimens in Chia-Tai title appear to be dated years 1, 2 and 3 so are sequential with those above, as are the numeric marks. This strongly suggest these numeric marks are annual sequential marks, suggesting #46 (S-784) was cast in AD 1191 (assuming the un-numbered example was cast before the numbering was started). Forty six years earlier was AD 1145 which is in the Shao-Hsing reign title where we see S-683-684-683-84 and S-686-88 which is the first occurrence of the thick crescent on a Southern Sung coin. This suggest these are annual sequential marks dating from when the mint was opened. For this theory to work, we must make one assumption in that Crescent, Crescent/dot and Crescent/2 dots must come under one authority, as the first occurrence does not use the Crescent/2 dots. This does fit with the concept that at least the early mint marks were actually marks of not individual mints, but of governmental districts possibly in charge of more than one mint (as discussed elsewhere). |
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S-785, iron 3 or 5 cash
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crescent/2 dots,
fourth seven
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S-786, iron 3 or 5 cash
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crescent/2 dots,
fourth eight
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S-787, iron 3 or 5 cash
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crescent/2 dots,
fourth nine
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FD-1294, iron 3 or 5 cash
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crescent/2 dots, fifty
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S-830, iron 3 or 5 cash
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crescent/2 dots,
fifty one
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S-831, iron 3 or 5 cash
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crescent/2 dots,
fifty two
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S-832, iron 3 or 5 cash
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crescent/2 dots,
fifty three
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S-833, iron 3 or 5 cash
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crescent/2 dots,
fifty four
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S-824, iron 3 or 5 cash
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Chuan, five
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This is an odd series. Cast during a six year reign title, no number above six can be a year mark.The marks here are not as clear cut as on the crescent/2 dots series, but we can make a few speculations. First, as the Chuan mint mark resembles the number 3 turned on it’s side, it is possible that S-824 could also be read as 35, and S-827 as 38. One the crescent/2 dots type we have shown and the numbers either side of the hole should be read as if the hole is not present, so S-825 becomes 37 and S-826 becomes 36. The only problem is S-828 with would now read as having both 36 and 37 on it. In spite of this analysis, the meaning of these numbers is still unclear. (remember that this is only a theory and by no means proven. |
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S-826, iron 3 or 5 cash
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Chuan, six, three
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S-828, iron 3 or 5 cash
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six, Chuan,
thirty seven
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S-825, iron 3 or 5 cash
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Chuan, seven, thirty
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S-827, iron 3 or 5 cash
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nine, Chuan
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S-854, iron 3 cash
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one Chuan
thirty eight
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Another unusual series. The one, two and three appear to be year marks. The thirty eight, thirty nine and fourth are uncertain but seem to be continuous with the thirty seven of the series above. The reverse marks clearly seem to be consecutive and not directly related to the reign title. FD-1238 and S-856 are the only two we have so far noted with the same year mark but different reverse marks. |
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S-855, iron 3 cash
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two Chuan
thirty nine
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S-856, iron 3 cash
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three Chuan, forty
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FD-1238, iron 3 cash
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three Chuan, forty one
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S-873, iron 3 cash
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Chuan, three, forty two
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This coin continues the sequence of the two series above. A pattern is definitely here.
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The data collected in these charts is based on a limited number of sources. It is almost a certainty that more dates will eventually be added to the date chart, and that there may be denominations and possible mints that we have not yet come across. The current information should cover most issues but it is possible some new discoveries may cause us to re-evaluate some of our interpretations in the future.
The weights listed in this chart are only quick estimates based on the specimens in the Schjoth collection. It should be assumed that many of the coins were worn and possibly corroded (especially the iron) and that the average weight when cast would have been as much as 10% higher.
From these tables we are able to make the following observations:
1) There do not seem to be any examples of the same mint mark appearing on both bronze and iron coins during a reign title.
2) Early bronze coins sometimes have mint marks, and most later bronze coins have date marks, but be have not found an example where both occur together on a bronze coin.
3) The “mint” marks may be more complex then they first appear, and in some cases may not be true mint marks. At no more than eight in any one title, and in some cases only one is used, there seem to be too few mints to account for the numbers of coins that should have been needed. At times the Northern Sung at as many as twenty-six mints operating. With the loss of the Northern Territories, the Southern Sung would have had a smaller population, but they did occupy the most populous parts of China and the needs would have been cut no more than in half. Schjoth (page 34) notes that “Li”, “Chuan” and “Chiung” were all district names rather than distinct cities.
4) There must have been a major currency reform during the Shun Hsi reign title (AD 1174-1189). The use of mint marks on iron coins was greatly expanded sometime between 1174 and 1180. In 1180 date marks were introduced. It also appears that during this period the use of iron coins was greatly expanded.
5) The use of iron coins is greatly reduced at AD 1224 and seems to stop around AD 1230.
6) The normal working denominations and standards for bronze coins do not seem to have changed a great deal from the Northern Sung period. The basic one cash seems to been cast under most reign titles at a standard between 3 and 4 grams with the size early in the dynasty about 24 mm and gradually reducing to about 22 mm by the end of the dynasty. Most reign titles cast bronze 2 cash of a standard between 5.75 and 7.5 grams (also as in the Northern Sung) with the size varying between 27 and 30 mm, a slightly wider range than in the Northern Sung. A few reign titles cast bronze 5 and 10 cash coins, several of which are clearly marked as to their denomination, but in most cases are cast to a weight standard close to official standard (15-17 grams for a 5 cash and 30-35 grams for a 10 cash). Only in one instance were high denomination feduciary bronze coins cast (at a value of 100 cash).
7) At first glance the iron coins seem to work on a system similar to the Northern Sung system whereby size if important but weights vary considerably. We are still working on this part, but it appears that value 2 iron cash were cast at about 28-30 mm with weights abut 6.5 to 8 grams, about the same as the bronze value 2. Value 3 iron cash at about 31-33 mm but with weights between 8 and 13 grams. Something what were cast here, but not during the Northern Sung, were value 5 iron coin. There is little doubt about them as some types were clear marked as value 5. They tend to be about 34 mm 10 to 15 grams.
8) At first is appeared that the crescent/dot and 2 dots/crescent reverse types indicated value 2 and value 3 coins. A closer examination of the coins shows that this is probably not the case. It would imply the the crescent only types, such as 683 and 687 were value 1 cash, but those two are obviously 2 value 2 cash. S-725 bares the crescent/dot reverse but appears to be a 1 cash. While the 2 dots/crescent reverse usually occures on value 3 cash, S-781 is an example where the marks occure on a value 2 cash. The meaning of these marks still remains a mystery, but at the moment it appears that the most likely explanation is that they are mint marks of some type. We have noted that they only occur on bronze coins during the early period when other mint marks also appear on bronze coins. Later, when mint marks only occur on iron coins, these marks also only occur on iron coins. At the moment, this early draft of this site may have some types described with these marks listed as denomination marks, but these comments will be removed from the next draft.
year three
believe it’s a fake of a Southern Song coin.
Emperor Ning Zong, Jai Ding Long Bao clockwise.
This should be a large Iron coin.
could be wrong (probably am) but it appears to be genuine. It’s 11.9g and 33mm and I’m not sure how to determine its metal content. Is there a good book on old Chinese coins like this?
Iron is magnetic and this coin is not magnetic.. Oh well, it’s fake. I’d still like to find a good book on Chinese coins like this one. And thanks for your help.
Yep, sorry, but as far as I can tell, these coins were only cast in iron. Iron (a) is magnetic, and (b) turns rusty red-brown, rather than green.
As for books, I have two. Krause Publication’s “Chinese Cash” by David Jen has too many errors and omissions for me to recommend it (unless they’ve issued newer editions which fixed the problems up). I’m still reading through my just-bought copy of “Cast Chinese Coins” by David Hartill; it seems better and more comprehensive (this particular coin, for instance, is listed in Hartill but not in Jen), but the lack of a price guide is its main drawback.
Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise, you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.
Schjoth-Chinese Currency- lists all the issues with the clockwise legend as Iron coins. These coins also have a mintmark at the top of the Reverse, and the reign year at the bottom. Iron coins appear black, or rusted. They are not common now, although they were when issued.
The copper issues of this reigh title have regnal yerar at the top, but they are all Top-Bottom-Right -Left. I have not consulted any of my Chinese texts, but I agree that thios is a fake.
Thanks for the info. I’ve ordered David Hartill’s book on Chinese coins and I plan to find a good place to get genuine Chinese coins. I’ll post a few pictures of coins in a month or so once I’ve gotten and identified them. Do you know of any reputable dealers who sell Chinese coins?
Hehe, you should read it as ” chia, ding,long, bao”, just starting from Chia, clockwise, to Bao.
Chinese: 嘉定隆寶
it’s cast during 1208–1224, an iron coin minted by Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279).
Actually, the order of the inscriptions on coin is clockwise, that’s really rare among Chinese coins
Emperor KAO TSUNG
AD 1127-1162
Reign title: CHIEN-YEN, AD 1127-1131
S-671, 673 Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CHIEN-YEN T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox and seal scripts. Reverse: blank. 23-24 mm.
@
S-672, Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CHIEN-YEN T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: “CHUAN” which Schjoth believes referes to Western Szechuan (probably Ch’eng-tu Fu mint). 22 mm.
S-674-676. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “CHIEN-YEN T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox and seal scripts. Reverse: blank. 28 mm. Average average 6.5 grams (ranging from 5.33 to 8.6 grams). Schjoth assigned a value of 3 cash to the 8.6 gram specimen all three are the same size and fit into the Northern Sung standard for a 2 cash.
F $9.00 VF $15.00@
S-677-678. Iron 1 cash. Obverse: “CHIEN-YEN T’UNG-PAO”in seal script. Reverse: blank. 20 m. Average 5.08 grams. These are very small coins, but weights fit with earlier Iron 1 cash. These need further study.
We believe the iron and bronze coins of similar size circulated at the same values, with the iron coin being fiduciary by a ratio of about 10 to 1 by weight. A discussion of the development of the iron coinage during the North Sung Dynasty can be found of that part of our site.
Reign title: SHAO-HSING, AD 1131-1162
S-679. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING YUAN-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: blank. 24 mm. Schjoth’s specimen weight 2.81 grams.
S-680. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING YUAN-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: crescent. 24 mm. Schjoth’s specimen weight 3.07 grams.
S-681-689. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING YUAN-PAO” in seal script. Reverse: blank or with a variety of crescents and dots. 28-29 mm. Schjoth’s specimen weight 5.50 grams but include a number of relatively light weight specimens that may be contemporary counterfeits. It appears that the intended standard may have been somewhat over 6 grams.
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SCRIPT
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REVERSE
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TOP
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TOP/BOTTOM
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TOP RIGHT
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ORTHODOX
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blank
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crescent
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crescent/dot
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crescent
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SEAL
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blank
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crescent
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crescent/dot
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This chart shows in interesting trend in that, with the exception of one rather oddly positioned crescent, there appears to be parallel development in the crescents and dots in both script styles. The exact meaning of this is not yet clear, and more types may exist, but we currently speculate that the crescents and dots are mint marks.
S-690, 691. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in seal and orthodox scripts. Reverse: blank. 29 mm. Schjoth had two specimens averaging 6.87 grams.
S-692. Iron 2 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: blank. 27 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 6.82 grams.
S-693. Iron 2 (or 1) cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: “LI”. 26 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 5.82 grams.
On this type, Schjoth (page 34) has recognized that the reverse mark “LI” is not a city name, but rather the name of a governmental area made up of parts of Szechuan and Shensi. This suggest that rather than a mint mark, it is a governing authority in charge of possibly several mints. It is possible this is also the case for the other Southern Sung “Mint Marks” that occur later in the series.
S-694. Iron 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: blank. 23 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 3.84 grams.
S-695. Iron 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: “LI”. 23 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 3.52 grams.
S-696. Iron 1 (?) cash. Obverse: “SHAO-HSING T’UNG-PAO” in orthodox script. Reverse: blank. 18 mm. Schjoth had one specimen of 3.20 grams.
These small (under 22 mm) iron cash is something new to the Sung series. We cannot dismiss them as a counterfeit as similar coins were cast during the following reign titles. Further analysis is needed on these.
Emperor HSIAO TSUNG
AD 1163-1189
Reign title: LUNG-HSING, AD 1163-1164@
Reign title: CH’IEN TAO, AD 1165-1173
T’UNG MINT
Hartill 17.150, iron 2 cash,”CH’IEN-TAO YUAN-PAO”, mint mark at the bottom, no date mark. Average (1 specimen) 26.0 mm, 4.69 grams.
VF $95.00
Reign title: SHUN HSI, AD 1174-1189
NO MINT MARK
S-725 variety, bronze 1 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Reverse: crescent and two dots at bottom.
S-730, bronze 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, no year mark.
gF $7.00
MINT AND DATE MARKED COINS
Sometime in the first 6 years of Shun-hsi, the practice of putting Mint marks on the reverse was introduced for Iron but not bronze coins. The 7th year saw the introduction of regal dates on the reverse of almost all coins, bronze and iron. Schjoth (page 34) states the dates were added to stop illicit casting, and were successful in doing so. There has to be more to this than meets the eye.
We see no reason why the practice would have affected counterfeiting by the general population, as they would have simply made coins bearing the date and mint marks. Since the counterfeiting stopped, we can assume the problem was not with the general public. On the other hand, when mint and date marks are combined, it makes it possible to identify the mint official responsible for any given issue. This would be a great deterrent to the casting of sub-standard coins by official mints.
The next question that is raised is why were mint marks not added to bronze coins. The obvious answer would appear to be that there was only one mint casting bronze coins, but is not certain. The bronze coins of this reign title are fairly common, and seem to exist in numbers far to large for the production of a single mint. Another possible answer is that bronze coins, being non-feduciary in nature, were not as easy a target for sub-standard casting and as tight of controls were not deemed necessary. This is an area that needs more research.
S-735, bronze 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Year-11.
F $6.00
S-735, bronze 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Year-11.
gVF $12.00
S-738, bronze 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Year-14.
aVF/F $7.00
CH’UN MINT
S-751, iron 2 cash “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, Year-14.
gF $45.00
T’UNG MINT
NOT LISTED, like S-726 but iron 2 cash,
“SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”, no year mark,
Reverse: mint mark at the top.
gF $40.00@
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”,
Year-14. Reverse: mint mark at the top.
aVF $65.00
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAO”,
Year-15 (to left), Reverse: mint mark to the right and date to the left (unusual).
gF $75.00
Emperor KUANG TSUNG
AD 1190-1194
Reign title: SHAO-HSI, AD 1190-1194
CH’UN MINT
S-772, iron 1 cash, “SHAO-HSI T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VF/F $39.50
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHAO-HSI T’UNG-PAO”,
Year-3 to left, mint mark to the right, orthodox script.
VF/F $75.00
T’UNG MINT
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHAO-HSI T’UNG-PAO”,
mint mark at the top. There is no year mark but it may have been removed.
VF $10.00
NOT LISTED, iron 2 cash, “SHAO-HSI T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VF/G $40.00
gF $8.50
HAN MINT
It appears that the Han mint (in Hupei province) was opened in the first year of Shao-hsi (AD 1190). While Schjoth did not have one, we have owned an example of Han year-1.
Emperor NING TSUNG
AD 1195-1224
The coinage of Ning Tsung is by far the most interesting and diversified of the Sung Dynasties, and possibly any Chinese Emperor. During as 29 year reign he used 5 reign titles, issued prolifically in both bronze and iron, and made extensive use of mint and date marks. Schjoth lists about 180 different examples, which is by no means a complete listing of what must have existed.
Reign title: CH’ING-YUAN, AD 1195-1200
Schjoth (page 36) says “In the 3rd year of Ch’ing-yuan (A.D. 1197) the Shen-ch’uan mint cast ‘value three’ coins from the accumulated copper utensils obtained”. The coins referred to appear to be the larger copper issues, S-800-802, which do not bear mint marks. Schjoth has specimens date years 4, 5 and 6. This appears to be the same mint that cast a set of unusual iron coins (S-854-856) which appear to be dated years 1, 2 and 3. This is the first evidence we have found that during a single reign title a mint cast both non-mint-marked copper coins and mint marked iron coins, but it should be noted that there is no overlap in the date marks, so there is still no evidence of both being cast at one mint at the same time.
CH’UN MINT
S-806, iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
F $35.00
S-806, iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
gF $40.00
NOT LISTED, iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-6.
VF/F $40.00
S-814, iron 2 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-3.
VF/VG $35.00
S-816, iron 2 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-6.
F $40.00
HAN MINT
NOT LISTED iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-4.
aF $29.50
T’UNG MINT
NOT LISTED, iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VG/F $25.00
NOT LISTED,iron 1 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VG-F $25.00
S-812, iron 2 cash, “CH’ING-YUAN T’UNG-PAO”, Year-5.
VG-F $29.50
CHUAN MINT
Schjoth 824-828 represent an unusual series of iron coins. The meaning of Chuan mint mark is fairly clear but there are other characters of uncertain meaning. S-824 has a “5” to the left which may or may not be a date mark. S-825 as two marks, 7 at right and 30 at left (formed by a combined 3 and 10), neither of which can be a date mark as this title only lasted six years. S-826 has a “6” at the left and “3” at the right. Either one, but not both, could be date marks but S-825 and S-827 suggest this series is not dated. S-827 has a “9” at the top beside “Chuan”, which cannot be a date mark. S-828 has a “6” at the top beside “Chuan” and the same 7 and 30 marks seen on S-826, at the bottom. The meaning of these is unclear, but it should be noted that a similar series (S-854-856), also of the chuan mint, have similar marks, as does S-873. It appears that the Chuan mint used a different system than other mints. At 33 mm, these coins are larger than the normal series (although the same as S-829-834 discussed next). It is possible they are some type of emergency issues but we are as yet unable to provide an explanation of them.
IRON COINS WITHOUT MINTMARKS
Schjoth 829-833 are another odd series of iron coin. Since they are also 33 mm, they are probably related to S-824-828. Schjoth lists these as of unclear meaning, but we have a theory about them. All have the crescent with 2 dots at the top, which Schjoth suggests means value 3 cash, which we will accept for the moment (but are uncertain about). The marks at the bottom 1-5 (or 15), 2-5 (or 25), 3-5 (or 35), 4-5 (or 45) and 6-5 (or 65). Note there is no 5-5 but there is a type with no numbers on the reverse that may occupy that position in the series (the Chinese of this period did not like to repeat characters on coins, as can be seen from some unusual reign titles). Also note we have not yet documented any year-5 iron coins from other mints. It is possible that in year 5 an experiment was tried whereby the 1, 2, 3, 4, blank=5, and 6 indicate the mints of issue. Other explanations are possible, including that the numbers indicate furnaces (workshops) with one central mint. It has also been suggested that these are mould series marks, but as non-reusable sand molds were probably used, and every mould was different, mold numbers would be pointless.
At first glance, S-823 to 833 all appear to be value 3 cash. Some bare the crescent with 3 dots mark which may indicate value 3. There seem to be two weight standards in use. S-823-829 are all in the 11 to 13 grams range while 830 to 833 are at a 9 to 10 gram range. The 9 to 10 grams coins have no mint marks but the crescent with 2 dots mark at the top, with double digit mark at the bottom composed a 5 on the right and A 1, 2, 3 or 4 on the left. This confused the issue slightly and needs to be given more consideration. The heavier coins, S-823-829 are years 5, 6, 7 and 8 as well as one with no date mark.
Reign title: CHIA-T’AI, AD 1201-1204
S-843. Bronze 3 cash. Obverse : CHAI T’AI TUNG PAO (read clockwise from the top). Reverse : blank. Average (1 specimen) 34.6 mm, 10.54 grams.
S-852 is shown in Schjoth’s illustration as a blank reverse, but in the text he notes it is a blurred reverse, indication something was there.
S-853 is an unusual coin. It has the “LI” mint mark at the top and the numbers 9 and 6 (or 96) at the bottom. Neither digit can be a date. This seems to be related to S-829-833 above although it is not over-sized as they were. We do not yet have an explanation this.
S-854-856 are also unusual.
Chia tai tung pao
On the top of the reverses @
they all have the Chuan mint mark with the digits 1, 2 and 3@ beside. This appear to be year marks. At the bottom they each have another double digit mark, 8-3@ (or 83), 93 (or 93) and 10-4 (or 40). As yet we do not have an explanation for them.
Reign title: K’AI-HSI, AD 1205-1207
BRONZE ISSUES
Under the K’ai-Hsi title bronze coins were issued in both the 1 and 2 cash denomination, with date marks but not mint marks. The 1 cash average (3 specimens) 3.44 grams, 24 mm. The 2 cash average (3 specimens) 5.73 grams, 28 mm.
S-857. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : “Yuan” for year-1 (AD 1205). Value not yet recorded.
S-858. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : Year mark for year-2 (AD 1206). F $4.00 VF $6.50
S-859. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : Year mark for year-3 (AD 1207). Value not yet recorded.
S-860. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : “Yuan” for year-1 (AD 1205). Value not yet recorded.
S-861. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : Year mark for year-2 (AD 1206). &Value not yet recorded.
S-862. Bronze 2 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : Year mark for year-3 (AD 1207). Value not yet recorded.
IRON ISSUES
The iron issues of the K’ai-hsi period are for the most part fairly standard. There are issues for year 1, 2 and 3 from each of the three principle mints of T’ung, Han and Ch’un, but only in the two cash denomination.
S-863 to 871. Iron 3 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : date and mint mark. These will be written up at some future date.
Schjoth listed the following three issues that do not fit the standard pattern but appear to be of a 3 cash denomination.
S-872. Iron 3 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : blank. Average (1 specimen) 10.93 grams. The blank reverse on this specimen seems rather odd and does not fit with other issues of this period. I suspect Schjoth’s specimen was simply too corroded and what ever was on the reverse was not visible. Value not yet determined.
S-873. Iron 3 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : “SAN CH’UAN SSU ERH” (thee Ch’uan twenty four). It seem likely that 3 Ch’uan means third year at Ch’uan mint, but the meaning of the 24 is as yet unclear (Schjoth speculates it is a mold number that seem unlikely to me). Average (1 specimen) 11.58 grams. value not yet determined.
S-874. Iron 3 cash. Obverse : “K’ai-Hsi T’ung-pao”. Reverse : “LI LIU SHIH” (LI sixty). LI may be the mark for the Shao-Hsing mint in Li-chou. The meaning of the number sixty is as yet uncertain. Average (1 specimen) 9.35 grams.
Reign title: CHIA-TING, AD 1208-1224
S-903-904 iron only unusual in that the Li-chou mint mark is written in full rather than with only the Character for LI.
S-905 iron is unusual as it does not have a mint mark and the date mark is at the top. It is a typical type for an bronze coin. It should be checked to see if it is really iron.
S-934-958 are a complex series of coins that will need a lot of study to sort out. This will have to wait until later.
China S.Sung Chia-Ting (1208-1224 AD)
Chia Ting Yuan Pao (Year 2) 1209 AD
US $13.15@
I found bronze coin Chia ting yuan pao year 4 and 8 with very find condition more clear than above coin
Emperor LI TSUNG, AD 1225-1264
Not that Schjoth (top of page 40) notes that Li tsung’s government was over-burdened with the difficulties of war. This must be considered when interpreting this next series of coins. It might help explain the unusual series S-983-990. Is the stopping iron issues (from S-991 on) related to this war?
Reign title: PAO-CH’ING, AD 1225-1227
To use the Pao-ch’ing reign title on a coin would have required the character for “Pao” to occur twice on the same coin. It had long been established that characters were generally not repeated on the obverse of Chinese coins, so in a tradition stating much earlier, an inscription commemorating the Sung Dynasty was chosen. In this case it was “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO” which means roughly “coinage of the great Sung dynasty”.
Schjoth seems to think that coins with the “Pao-ch’ing” inscriptions were cast in the first few months of this title, but he did not have a specimen and we have never seen one. Since is would have gone against long standing tradition to have cast such coins, we would want to examine any such specimens for authenticity before including them in this listing.
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.45 gr
|
2
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
29 mm
|
6.29 gr
|
3
|
|
Iron 2 cash
|
29 mm
|
7.74 gr
|
2
|
|
Iron 3 cash
|
31 mm
|
12.83 gr
|
1
|
| |
|
|
|
BRONZE COINS
S-959-960, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 3 been documented (we once had the year 2 that Schjoth was missing).
VF $27.50
S-961-963,bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Years 2 and 3 have been documented. Schjoth had a year three with a crescent in the bottom right corner. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
IRON COINS
NO MINT MARK
S-965 iron 2 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: blank. This coin is an anomaly for this period, as blank reverses are not normal on iron coins. Sometimes the reverses are weak on these and if the coin was in poor condition, possibly not legible. This coin should be examined very closely. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
S-966 iron 2 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “LI-CHOU HSING-SHIH” (the currency of Li-Chou). Not that these is not date on this type. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
CH’UAN MINT
S-964 iron 3 cash. Obverse: “TA-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “CH’UAN SAN” (Ch’uan mint year 3). Only year 3 has been documented but we would expect others to exist. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Schjoth listed all three of these iron coins as value 3 cash, but both the sizes and the weights clear indicate that two different denominations were intended
Reign title: SHAO-TING, AD 1228-1233
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.37 gr
|
7
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
29 mm
|
6.65 gr
|
6
|
|
Iron 1 cash
|
25 mm
|
5.89 gr
|
1
|
| |
|
|
|
BRONZE COINS
S-967-972, 975 bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-TING T’UNG PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 6 been documented.
F $5.00 VF $9.00
S-973, 974, 976-979 bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-TING T’UNG PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Only year 1 has been documented. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Schjoth describes his example #975 as a clipped two cash, but if the diameter within the rims are drawn accurately, we so no reason to believe it was not cast as a one cash.
IRON COINS
CH’I-CHUN MINT
S-980 iron 1 cash. Obverse: “SHAO-TING T’UNG PAO”. Reverse: “CH’UN SAN” (Ch’un mint year 3). Only year 3 has been documented but we would expect others to exist. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Reign title: TUAN-P’ING, AD 1234-1236
This is the last Southern Sung reign title under which iron coins were cast, and for which mint marks were used.
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
22 mm
|
3.76 gr
|
1*
|
|
Bronze 5 cash
|
34 mm
|
10.64 gr
|
1
|
|
Bronze 10 cash
|
40 mm
|
26.58 gr
|
1
|
|
Iron 1 cash
|
25 mm
|
7.19 gr
|
1
|
|
Iron 2 cash
|
29 mm
|
10.92 gr
|
1
|
|
Iron 5 cash
|
35 mm
|
11.36 gr
|
1
|
* One of the two specimens Schjoth had is listed as weighing 5.91 grams, which is so far off the usual standard we have to assume the listing is an error and have only included one of the specimens in the weight calculation. Hopefully we will be able to locate more specimens in the near future.
BRONZE COINAGE
S-981-982, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Only year 1 has been documented. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
S-983, bronze 5 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: blank. A recent specimen we handled was 35.5 mm, 10.4 grams. This is a fairly common type.
F $15.00 VF $25.00
S-984, bronze 10 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “LI CHE SHIH” (Li-chou value 10). We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Schjoth (page 39) suggest this is a bronze trial casting for an iron type. As it bears a mint mark this is possible, but as of yet we have not seen any evidence for iron examples having been issued. The presence of bronze value 10 cash coins in the next reign title, as well as under Chia-ting (AD 1208-1224), suggest it was more likely was intended as a bronze 10 cash. The mint mark makes it an anomaly amoung bronze coins of this period, but many of the coins of this reign title are unusual types.
IRON COINAGE
The iron coins of this reign are unusual in that none of the specimens we have so far documented bear dates, and only some of them bear mint marks. This shows some type of coinage reform was underway, which seems to have resulted in a total stop to the issue of iron coins by the end of this period.
CHIUNG MINT
S-985, iron 5 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “CHIUNG WU” (Chiung mint value 5). We have not yet determined a value for type.
TING-CHOU MINT
S-986, iron 5 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: “TING-WU PEI-SHANG” (value five of Ting-chou, upper north). We have not yet determined a value for this type.
HUI (MIN) MINT
S-988, iron 5 cash. Obverse: TUAN-P’ING T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: “HUI-WU HSI-SHANG” (value five of Hui Mint, upper western). We have not yet determined a value for this type.
Schjoth illustrates both S-986 and 988 as being without rims, but makes no comment about this. We assume that his specimen was just in very poor condition, which is not unusual for iron coins. Both types have reverse inscriptions which are not yet understood. Like some other South Sung Iron coins of this general period, there is a reference to a geographic direction and a rank with these as upper, S-1000 as second. We are not sure if his translation is correct and wonder if upper could also mean something like main, first or primary, in which case we might take these to mean that the mint mark lists the governmental office in charge and that the secondary mark referes either to a specific mint, or a workshop within a mint. This needs more research and the help of a better translator.
NO MINT MARKS
S-989, iron 1 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. We have not yet determined a value for this type yet.
Schjoth refers to this as a 2 cash but at 25 mm it is far more likely to have been intended as a 1 cash. At 7.19 grams it a little heavy, but all the evidence indicates that size is far more important then weight in determining denomination (see our discussion of size and weights under the Northern Sung dynasty) and it is not unusual for iron coins to be significantly heavier than bronze coins of the same size. (the same applies to the 2 cash below).
S-990, iron 2 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Schjoth refers to this as a 3 cash but at 29 mm it is far more likely to have been intended as a 2 cash. We have not yet determined a value for this type yet.
S-987, iron 5 cash. Obverse: “TUAN-P’ING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: blank. We have not yet determined a value for this type yet.
Reign title: CHIA HSI, AD 1237-1240
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
22 mm
|
3.58gr
|
3
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
27 mm
|
6.66 gr
|
5
|
|
Bronze 5 cash
|
37 mm
|
15.75 gr
|
3
|
|
Bronze 10 cash
|
48 mm
|
40.04 gr
|
1
|
S-991-993, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CHIA-HSI T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 4 have been documented.
VG $3.50 F $5.00
S-994-998, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “CHIA-HSI T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 4 have been documented, plus a year 2 with a crescent at the top. We have not yet determined a value for these.
S-999, bronze 5 cash. Obverse: “CHIA-HSI CHUNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. We recently had a two specimens, both of 37 mm. The average weight of thee specimens was 15.75 grams. The specimens we have had were well cast with bold deep characters.
F $50.00 VF $75.00
Schjoth considered these to be value 3 cash, but at 35-37 mm and about 16 grams, it is much larger than the 31-32 mm and 10.74 grams one would expect (based on a average 3.58 for the one cash) but only slightly below the range one would expect for a value 5 cash. The next issue, S-1000, is clearly intended to be a value 10 cash, and at 40.0 grams is just at the upper limit for a full weight 10 cash, we feel it is safe to assume S-999 was intended as a non-fiduciary 5 cash.
S-1000, bronze 10 cash. Obverse: “CHIA-HSI T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: denomination mark for 10 at the top with “HSI ERH” at the bottom. We have not yet determined a value for this type.
As the weight of this issue is consistent with a 10 cash, we so no reason not to believe that the “10” at the top of this coin is not a mark of denomination. The ‘HSI ERH” at the bottom is more of a mystery. Schjoth translates it to “Western second (series)”, the meaning of this is as yet uncertain. We can speculate that this is a type of mintmark. Earlier we mentioned that some of the “mint marks” are in fact the names of governmental admistrative districts, rather than specific mints, and that it is possible that several mints may have opperated withing each of these areas. It is possible that the term “Western second series” is a designation of a specific mint within one of these areas.
Reign title: SHUN-YU, AD 1241-1252
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.09 gr
|
10
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
28 mm
|
5.87 gr
|
10
|
|
Bronze 100 cash
|
37 mm
|
14.22 gr
|
1
|
|
Bronze 100 cash
|
50 mm
|
28.41 gr
|
1
|
S-1001-1010, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “SHUN-YU YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 12 have been documented
VG $3.50 F $5.00 VF $9.00
S-1011-1021, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “SHUN-YU YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10@, 11 and 12 have been documented. We have not yet determined a value for these.
S-1022-1023, bronze 100 cash. Obverse: “SHUN-YU YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating the denomination. These do not have year marks. We have had one example of the smaller version in
gF 195.00.
S-1022 is half the weight of S-1023. It may be significant that that S-1022 is about the same standard as S-999 (probably a 5 cash), and S-1023 is about the same as S-1000 (10 cash), both of the previous reign title. The question is why would such fiduciary issues be necessary. A study of the history of this reign title might suggest something. The most likely cause would be an economic crisis brought on by war. It is likely the two sizes date to different parts of the reign, but without date marks we may never know for sure.
Reign title: PAO-YU, AD 1253-1258
huang sung yuan pao
Coins of this reign title us the inscription “HUANG-SUNG YUAN-PAO” which means “the currency of the Imperial Sung”. This was done was using Pao-yu would require repeating the character for Pao, which was considered to be incorrect. A similar situation occurs on some coins of the Northern Sung period.
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23.0 mm
|
3.00 gr
|
7
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
29.1 mm
|
5.54 gr
|
6
|
S-1024-1029, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “HUANG-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years 1 to 6 have been documented.
F $4.50
S-1030-1035, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “HUANG-SUNG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years 1 to 6 have been documented.
F $6.00 VF $9.00
Reign title: K’AI-CHING, AD 1259
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.13 gr
|
1
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
27 mm
|
6.97 gr
|
1
|
S-1036, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “K’AI-CH’ING Y’UAN-PAO”. @Reverse: mark for Year-1. We have not yet determined a value for these.
S-1037, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “K’AI-CH’ING Y’UAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark for Year-1. We have not yet determined a value for these.
Reign title: CHING-TING, AD 1260-1264
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
23 mm
|
3.06 gr
|
4
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
28 mm
|
6.19 gr
|
7
|
S-1038-1041, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CHING-TING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Years -1, 2, 3 and 4 are known.
VG $3.50 F $6.00 VF $8.50
S-1042-1048, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “CHING-TING YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 5 have been documented. As well, Schjoth has one example of year 4 with a crescent at the right. We have not yet determined a value for these.
Emperor TU TSUNG
AD 1265-1274
Tu Tsung was the last emperor of the Sung dynasty, ruling for 10 years with only one reign title.
Reign title: HSIEN-SHUN, AD 1265-1274
|
DENOMINATION
|
SIZE
|
WEIGHT
|
#
|
|
Bronze 1 cash
|
22 mm
|
3.11 gr
|
6
|
|
Bronze 2 cash
|
28 mm
|
4.86
|
9
|
S-1049-1054, bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “HSIEN-SHUN YUAN-PAO”.@ Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. Years -1, 2, 3@, 5, 6 and 8 are known. We have not yet determined a value for these.
S-1055-1063, bronze 2 cash. Obverse: “HSIEN-SHUN YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: mark indicating year of issue. All years from 1 to 8 have been documented. As well, Schjoth has one example of year 4 with a crescent at the right. We have not yet determined a value for these.
The current data suggest that there was a weight reduction in the 2 cash, from about 6.2 to 4.9 grams. We need to see more specimens to be sure this is really the case, but if it is, it may have been a measure take as the Mongols were closing in.
BRONZE CURRENCY BARS
Schjoth lists these as talley sticks, which we take to mean they were used to keep track of accounts. The inscriptions state they were “current” which clearly indicated they circulated and were therefore money. Similar items, but of bamboo, were made and circulated at the end of the Ching Dynasty and early in the Republic.
It is not clear when, or by whom, these were issued, but Schjoth (page 40) indicates that Lin-an-fu (now Hangchow) only had that name from AD 1129 until the end of the Sung period. If this is correct, then these must have been cast during the Southern Sung Dynasty.
S-1064, bronze 500 cash currency bar. Obverse: “LIN-AN-FU HSING-YUNG” (current in Lin-an Prefecture”. Reverse: “CHU WU PAI WEN SHENG” (Value five hundred cash with a reduction). 22×70 mm, 26.14 grams. No value yet determined.
S-1064a, bronze currency bar. Obverse: “LIN-AN-FU HSING-YUNG” (current in Lin-an Prefecture”. Reverse: “CHU WU PAI WEN SHENG” (Value two hundred cash with a reduction). 20×65 mm, 18.80 grams. No value yet determined.
The statement that they are valued with a reduction is something we do not yet understand. We have seen a number of these offered for sale in recent years. In our opinion, none that we examined were genuine.
TARTAR, MONGOL, MING DYNASTIES
(A.D. 960 to 1644)
This page is a reference guide for Chinese coins issued by the Tartar, Mongol, Ming and other medieval non-Sung Dynasties between (A.D. 960 to 1644), not an offering of coins for sale. A listing of the ancient and medieval Chinese coins we currently have available can be viewed on our : our vcoins store.
Images used on this page represent the types, but bear no relationship
to the actual size of the coins. Where known, the actual sizes will be listed.
The reverse consists of an inscription in Arabic and Thai scripts,each divided into two parts on opposite sides of the central hole. A Malay inscription reads:Negri Singgora.The Thai inscription is placed left and right of the hole:Khla Song (Songkhla).The inscriptions are occasionally transposed.
Thai.Songkhla Tin Coin.
Sung Ch’eng T’ung Pao.Obverse.
This coin was first published by Millies in 1871.It appears that two denominations were issued, a 5gm coin and a 10gm coin.
This is a holed tin coin with Thai,Chinese and Malay inscritions.
Coin in this group are round with a circular hole.
Sung Ch’eng is the Chinese transcription of Singgora.(Songkhla).
LIAO DYNASTY, AD 907-1125
The Liao were a Tartar Dynasty known as the Ch’i-tan or Ki-tan Tartars, first established by T’ai Tsu in AD 907 during the period of the 5 dynasties. The dynasty lasted for 218 years until AD 1125, ruling from their capital at Beijing. For most of their existence they existed along side the Northern Sung Dynasty, in what appears to be somewhat less than peaceful co-existance.
The first Emperor of Liao did not issue any coins. There were five Emperors between AD 907 and 1031 who issued coins, but only a handful of each type is known to exist and it is unlikely any genuine examples will come on the market. We have not listed them here as it is unlikely anyone viewing this site to identify a coin will have one, but you will find information on them on page 216 of David Hartill’s book CAST CHINESE COINS. Schjoth (page 41) notes a record of the Liang Dynasty Emperor Mo, using the reign title Lung-te, issuing large numbers of coins during this period, which are likely what circulated in the Liao region for what little need the Liao people had of coins at that time.
The earliest readily available coins of Liao begin with the Emperor Hsing Tsung during his second reign title of Ch’ung Hsi after he established the first Liao central mint in Manchuria in AD 1053. The mint was not particularly skilled and most Liao coins are fairly crude, poor quality castings.
There are some differences in the dating of the Liao reign titles by Schjoth and Hartill, and we have chosen to use those given by Hartill as it is much more recent and almost certainly more reliable research.
Emperor HSING TSUNG
AD 1031-1055
reign title: CHING-FU, AD 1031
No coins were cast by Emperor Hsing Tsung under this title.
reign title: CH’UNG-HSI, AD 1032-1055
S-1065. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CH’UNG-HSI TUNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank Average 24 mm. These coins tend to be poorly cast.
VF $250.00
Schjoth (page 41) records that “in the 22nd year of Ch’ung-hsi (AD 1053) a cash bureau was established at Ch’ang-ch’un in Manchuria”. We assume this is the same as saying a Mint was established there. From this time on, the coinage of Liao becomes much more abundant. We hope to one day look into the events that may have prompted them to take such a move.
Emperor TAO TSUNG
AD 1055-1101
reign title: CH’ING-NING, AD 1055-1064
S-1066. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CH’ING-NING T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Average (1 specimen) 2.57 grams, 24.3 mm (but the specimen was rather worn). These coins tend to be poorly cast, and we apologize for the image of a very worn specimen, bu it is the best specimen we have been able to image.
F $95.00 VF $135.00
reign title: HSIEN-YUNG, AD 1065-1074
S-1067. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “HSIEN-YUNG T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. These very somewhat in weight. Th average of what we have seen (3 specimen) is 24.3 mm and 3.53 grams, but we have seen them from 2.75 to 3.9 grams. As with most Liao coins, this tends to be a a poorly cast issue. It is also the most common coin of the Liao Dynasty.
VF $135.00
reign title: TA-K’ANG, AD 1075-1084
S-1069. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “TA-K’ANG T’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Average 24 mm. These coins tend to be poorly cast.
F $115.00
S-1068. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “TA-K’ANG Y’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Average 24 mm. These coins tend to be poorly cast. We have handled this type, but it was before we started recording values and do not currently have a value for it.
This appears to be the only time when two distinct types were issued during the Liang Dynasty. We note that all Liao coins previous to this reign title were caste with “T’UNG-PAO”, and all Liao coins afterwards with “Y’UNG PAO”. We assume that means that for this reign title, the T’ung-pao issues are the earlier of the two. We wonder if this might present a clue as to why many Northern Sung reign titles also occur with more than one of these (and other) variations.
reign title: TA-AN, AD 1085-1094
S-1070-71.Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “TA-AN YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Average (1 specimen) 24.5 mm, 3.51 grams. There are some varieties in this type, with Schjoth noting one with a star hole, and another with a small dot in the upper left corner. We have owned a specimen with a small nail mark on the reverse. These variations would be worth a premium. These coins tend to be poorly cast with slightly irregular rims.
F $95.00 VF $135.00
The presence of a dot or nail mark on the reverse, or a star hole on a coin of this type is probably intentional, as similar star holes are very common on Northern Sung coins of this same period. Their meaning is as yet uncertain.
reign title: SHOU-CH’ANG, AD 1095-1101
S-1072. H 18.19. Obverse: “SHOU-CH’ANG YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Average (2 specimen) 24.0 mm, 3.62 grams. These coins tend to be poorly cast and somewhat irregular rims, and that must be allowed for in their grading.
F $95.00 VF $145.00
Emperor T’IEN CHA
AD 1101-1125
reign title: CH’IEN-T’UNG, AD 1101-1110
S-1073. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “CH’IEN-T’UNG Y’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Average 24 mm. These coins tend to be poorly cast.
F $95.00 VF $135.00
reign title: T’IEN CH’ING, AD 1111-1120
S-1074. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: “T’IEN CH’ING Y’UNG-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Average 24 mm. These coins tend to be poorly cast.
F $85.00 VF $120.00
This appears to be the last coin issued by the Liao Dynasty, even though the dynasty was to last for another five years after this title ended. Hartill (CAST CHINESE COINS, page 217) discusses and additional group of coins which are sometimes attributed to the Liao Dynasty, although all are rare and seldom encountered types which we have not included here.
WESTERN HSIA DYNASTY
This was a dynasty fo the Tangut people. Their capital was in Kansu Province, but it is not certain if their capital was in Kanchow or Soochow. In AD 1227, after breaking a promise to support Genghis Khan, this dynasty was exterminated.
Emperor JEN TSUNG
AD 1140-1193
reign title: T’IEN-SHENG, AD 1149-1168
@
As S-1078 but copper 1 cash. Obverse: ‘T’IEN-SHENG YUAN PAO”. Reverse: blank. Average (13 specimens) 23.9 mm, 3.51 grams.
F $12.00 VF $25.00
These are always well cast coins with bold characters and seldom seen in a grade below gF. The the brass has a very distintive light-brown tone to it. Schjoth says that the copper of this type is rare and that iron is common, but we currently find the opposite to be true
reign title: CH’IEN-YU, AD 1169-1193
S-1080. Iron 1 cash. Obverse: “CH’IEN-YU YUAN-PAO”. Reverse: blank. Average (4 specimen) 24.8 mm, 3.82 grams.
F $35.00 VF $75.00
Emperor HSIANG TSUNG
AD 1206-1212
reign title: HUANG-CHIEN, AD 1210-1212
S-1081, “HUANG-CHIEN YUAN-PAO”. This is an unusual coin in that the inscription starts at the top and is read around to the right, rather then the usual top-bottom-left-right.
gVF $145.00
Emperor SHEN TSUNG
AD 1212-1222
reign title: KUANG-TING, AD 1212-1222
S-1082, “KUANG-TING YUAN-PAO. This is an unusual coin in that the inscription starts at the top and is read around to the right, rather then the usual top-bottom-left-right. The specimens of this type that we have seen tend to be crudely cast from course sand molds. Average (1 specimen) 24.9 mm, 4.07 grams.
F $75.00 VF $110.00
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| Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Hsiao Tsung, AD1163-1189, Iron Cash, Value 2, SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAOPrice US$ 120.00 |
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Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Hsiao Tsung, AD1163-1189, AE 2 Cash, Title Shun-hsi, SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAOPrice US$ 35.00 |
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| Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Hsiao Tsung, AD1163-1189, IRON Value3, Title Shun-hsi, SHUN-HSI YUAN-PAOPrice US$ 55.00 |
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Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Kuang Tsung, AD1190-1194, SHAO-HSI YUAN-PAOPrice US$ 85.00Sorry, this item has been sold. |
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| Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Kuang Tsung, AD1190-1194, SHAO-HSI T’UNG-PAO/CHUN SAN in seal script, Iron Cash, Value 1Price US$ 95.00Sorry, this item has been sold. |
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Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Ning Tsung, AD 1195-1224, Iron Cash Value 2Price US$ 85.00Sorry, this item has been sold. |
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| Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Ning Tsung, AD 1195-1224, Iron Cash Value 3Price US$ 75.00 |
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Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Ning Tsung, AD 1195-1224, Iron Cash Value 5Price US$ 55.00 |
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| Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Ning Tsung, AD 1195-1224, Iron Cash Value 5Price US$ 55.00 |
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Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Ning Tsung, AD 1195-1224, Iron Cash Value 5Price US$ 45.00 |
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| Southern Sung Dynasty, Emperor Li Tsung, AD1225-1264, AE Cash, Value 5Price US$ 30.00Sorry, this item has been sold. |
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Tartars (Khitan branch, ca AD 907-1125), Liao Dynasty, Emperor Tao Tsung, AD1055-1100, AE CashPrice US$ 95.00Sorry, this item has been sold. |
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Downfall
After the death of the former king of the Mongolians, his younger brother – Kublai Khan – became the new king.
In 1271
After returning to the north, Kublai Kahn ascended to the throne of the Mogolian people successfully. And then, he established the Yuan Dynasty in northern China in 1271.
In the same year, he led his army to have ‘Lin’an’, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, occupied.
Thereafter, Southern Song Dynasty ended and China was reunified again
In 1276
the Yuan court launched a massive attack on the Southern Song, culminating in the capture of the Song’s capital, Lin’an, and the downfall of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Kublai Khan established a new dynasty – the Yuan (1271 – 1368).
THE NORTHERN SONG HISTORY COLLECTIONS
THE SOUTHERN SUNG DYNASTY
This is a guide to the coins of the Southern Sung Dynasty, not a list of coins for sale. A list of the ancient and medieval Chinese coins we currently have available can be viewed on our CD-ROM..
The Northern and Southern Sung Dynasties are really two parts of one dynasty. The division between then is traditionally placed where the Capital was moved from K’ai-feng Fu to Lin-an (modern Hangchou) following the lose of the Northern territories to Mongol invaders. Kao Tsung, first Emperor of Southern Sung, actually ruled from the Northern capital of K’ai-feng Fu for his first two years and could also be considered the last Emperor of Northern Sung.
We have still in the process of researching this portion of our reference guide. We have tried several formats of presenting the information, and have settled on the style currently used for the last few reign titles, but it will take a little while to change over the entire page to that format. For the moment, we are including a number of tables, working theories and various observations in the introduction and body of the text. In many cases these will be removed after the information derived from them has been incorporated into the text. In some cases we may make them available on a separate page.
Please remember that this part of our site is still in a very rough form and is far from complete. There will undoubtedly be a number of errors that will eventually be corrected, and a complete proof reading is still to be performed.
Emperor of Southern Song Dynasty
[ ]Gaozong
[ ]Xiaozong
[ ]Guanzong
[ ]Ningzong
[ ]Lizong
[ ]Duzong
[ ]Gongdi
[ ]Duanzong
[ ]Modi
CHINA, SONG period, c. 1000-1200 AD, hollow iron pig (I don’t suppose you could call it a lion?), 44x16x36mm tall, crude 13.50 sold
THE SOUTHERN SUNG DYNASTY
This is a guide to the coins of the Southern Sung Dynasty, not a list of coins for sale. A list of the ancient and medieval Chinese coins we currently have available can be viewed on our : our vcoins store.
Images on this site (more coming soon) represent types,
but bear no relationship to actual size.
The Northern and Southern Sung Dynasties are really two parts of one dynasty. The division between then is traditionally placed where the Capital was moved from K’ai-feng Fu to Lin-an (modern Hangchou) following the lose of the Northern territories to Mongol invaders. Kao Tsung, first Emperor of Southern Sung, actually ruled from the Northern capital of K’ai-feng Fu for his first two years and could also be considered the last Emperor of Northern Sung.
We have still in the process of researching this portion of our reference guide. We have tried several formats of presenting the information, and have settled on the style currently used for the last few reign titles, but it will take a little while to change over the entire page to that format. For the moment, we are including a number of tables, working theories and various observations in the introduction and body of the text. In many cases these will be removed after the information derived from them has been incorporated into the text. In some cases we may make them available on a separate page.
Please remember that this part of our site is still in a very rough form and is far from complete. There will undoubtedly be a number of errors that will eventually be corrected, and a complete proof reading is still to be performed.
AVERAGE WEIGHTS
We have decided to put a chart of the denominations, sizes and weights under each reign title. When the listing is complete the larger table of this information will be eliminated from the site. It this formate proves effective, will will incorporate the it into other parts of the site. Each of these tables has a heading for “#” at the end. This refers to the number of specimens used to determine the average weight.
DENOMINATIONS
The bronze denominations used during this dynasty are similar to those used during the Northern Sung dynasty with the additions that there are some non-feduciary 5 and 10 cash issues, as well as one issue of feduciary 100 cash.
A minor difference occurs in the bronze 1 cash in that, while the Northern Sung bronze 1 cash are generally about 24 mm throughout the dynasty, the Southern Sung issues vary between 22 and 25 mm, although there is usually a consistent size within any one reign title and thought, no matter what size, the average weights seem to have remained fairly consistent with an intended weight standard somewhere just over 3 grams.
The iron denominations are very different than those used during the Northern Sung. They are still all feduciary issues, but there seems to have been more acceptance of them as a regular part of the currency although we still have some questions about this. Iron was only issued prolifically during the middle years of the dynasty with no iron issues during the last few reign titles, and there were regular issues of 1 and 2 cash, as well as fairly regular issues of 3 and 5 cash. As many of these issues have survived in fairly large numbers, we have to assume that they were not recalled and melted for scrap metal as the Northern sung issues above 1 cash seem to have been (and are thus much rarer).
MINTS
Many Southern Sung coins, and in particular the iron coins, have actual mint marks on them. We are just beginning to build this section, and will be adding additional mints as images of the mint marks become available.
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T’UNG
Refers to the T’ung-an district in Fuken.
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Dates
Many Southern Sung coins, have regional date marks indicating how many years into the particular reign title the coin was minted. From these we can calculate the exact year of issue, of any coin with such a mark. The date marks we have so far imaged are below, and we will be adding more as become available.
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YEAR 2
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YEAR 3
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YEAR 5
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YEAR 6
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VALUATIONS
For many type we have not provided a valuation. This does not mean that the type is rare or overly valuable. It simply means we have not found what we feel is an acceptable valuation for the type. In other cases, where a valuation is given for a description which included several year variation, the valuation is for the commonest year that we have handled. If we determine that another year is especially rare or valuable, we will make not of it.
A 1914 Dodge Type 30 was the initial inspiration for the Louwman Collection of classic cars and automotive art housed in the newly-constructed National Automobile Museum of the Netherlands in the Hague. Located near the Queen’s Palace, the collection dates back to 1934 when a Dutch car importer happened upon the 20-year-old Dodge that was already vintage classic. The Louwman family continued to expand over the years to its current size, boasting over 230 cars.
The cars are divided up into sections consisting of Dawn of Motoring, Motoring, Racing and Luxury. Highlights include a 1900 Georges Richard, which is rumored to have been found in a Parisian side street and “Genevieve,” a 1904 Darracq from the 1953 film. Rare 1948 Tatra T87 and a Spatz Victoria bubble car with central tube chassis, are both designed by the legendary Hans Ledwinka.
The collection includes an impressive range of vehicles, ranging in year and stature from 1944 Willys Jeep Model MB to a 1875 Thirion Modele N 2 Horse Drawn Steam Fire-Engine and 1922 American Lafrance Hook and Ladder Aerial Type 31/6.
Conceived by architecture firm Michael Graves & Associates, the 185,000-square-foot structure with its peaked roofs and woven brick facade, consists of temporary and permanent exhibition galleries, a reception hall, an auditorium and workshops for conservation and car repairs.
Celestial’s shareholders have already invested over US$100 million for the acquisition of the library, its restoration, and the company’s operations. The entire restoration process is expected to take about three years, with specific films being released each month. This strategy will continue over the next five years. William Pfeiffer, CEO of Celestial Pictures, speaking by telephone from the historic Shaw Brothers Studio lot in Clear Water Bay says, “Celestial Pictures is thrilled and honored to launch the Shaw Brothers library in the restored digital format. Modern audiences worldwide will now have a unique opportunity to finally see these masterpieces of Chinese cinema.”
Pfeiffer fervently adds, “This video launch is certainly great news for the worldwide fans of Chinese movies, as most of these films have not been available on video or TV since their original cinema release. But the piracy issue is of the utmost importance. When you look at it in the longer term view as an industry, that is revenues going into the pockets of criminals and not the writers and the filmmakers. Then production values go down and you get a lesser entertainment experience. So to get that point across to those that don’t know the implications of buying a pirated product is essential.”
The launch celebration included two very special events. The first was a “Shaw Film Week” program at JP Causeway Bay Cinema where seven well-known films of various genres and from different eras were re-released on the big screen: “The Kingdom And The Beauty”, “Come Drink With Me”, “The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin”, “The Empress Dowager”, “The Blood Brothers”, “Hong Kong Nocturne” and “Let’s Make Laugh.”
Special performances of Shaw songs by Karen Mok and Ivy Ling Po, who flew in from Canada for the event, captivated and deeply moved the audience. Many of the key creative talents and celebrities of the Shaw Brothers Studio were also present. They included Cheng Pei-pei, Gordon Liu, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-tai, Ching Li, Liu Yung, Hui Ying-hung, Chiao Chiao, Chin Ping, Ho Meng-hua, Liu Chia-liang and Chu Yuan. Many of these stars shared their fond memories of working at the Shaw Brothers Studio and expressed their gratitude to Sir Run Run. It was an evening of pure golden magic.
At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Cheng Pei-pei and daughter Marsha, an up-and-coming star in Asia, were featured guests. As part of the honor, they attended the first “official” screening of the new 35mm print of “Come Drink With Me.” The kick-off at Cannes included big-wig cocktail parties, the red carpet treatment for Pei-pei and of course the fully restored film print exclusively reserved for the Theatre Bunuel. This event was of particular importance because it confirmed once and for all the rumors floating around the world that the Shaw Brothers films were finally coming back.
That is good news for Lim Cheng-Sim, programmer at the University of California-Los Angeles Film and TV Archives, which is responsible for curating film exhibitions. For years Lim has been working with John Woo trying to put together an ambitious travelling film festival of martial arts classics.
In closing, we are privy to share with you Shaw Brothers martial arts films as they break free of the cobwebs of time to become available on DVD and VCD. Coming are such classics as “Come Drink With Me,” directed by King Hu and starring Cheng Pei-pei; “The Heroic Ones,” “The Anonymous Heroes” and “The Blood Brothers,” all directed by Chang Cheh and starring David Chiang and Ti Lung; “Killer Clans,” directed by Chu Yuan and starring Yueh Hua; “The Tea House” and its sequel “Big Brother Cheng,” both directed by Kuei Chih-hung and starring Chen Kuan-tai; “The Magic Blade,” directed by Chu Yuan and starring Ti Lung, Ching Li and Lo Lieh; “Clans of Intrigue,” directed by Chu Yuan and starring Ti Lung, Nora Miao and Yueh Hua; “Temple of the Red Lotus,” directed by Kuei Chih-hung and starring Jimmy Wang Yu; “Death Duel,” directed by Chu Yuan and starring Derek Yee; and “Heroes Two,” directed by Chang Cheh and starring Alexander Fu Sheng and Chen Kuan-tai.
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Sparring Forms :
Wong Fei Hung was born(circa 1847) in the Nam hoi district of Kwungtung province into a well respected and famous family of Gung Fu practitioners. He is undautabley the most famous and extremely well known hung gar master to date whose life has been immortalized by hundreds of movies, publications, TV shows etc. Wong Fei Hung is widely considered as the father of the modern day Hung Gar due to his additions and the pivotal role on the development of Hung gar as we know today.
As mentioned earlier, grandmaster Wong is widely known as the father of modern day Hung Gar due to the reason that using his excellent knowledge and hand on experience he further developed and modified Hung Gar.One of his greatest legacies and masterpiece is the Fu Hok Sheong Yin Kuen, or Tiger and Crane set, which he re-choreographed and further developed. Many important aspects and principles were further developed and added in , such as the unique internal training handed down by the Tid Kiu Sam, 10 special hands(sup duk sao- sup jeut sao) also known as 10 killing hands, theory of yin-yang, 5 elements, 7 stars etc. The ten special hands were the ten most favored techniques/principles of Wong Fei Hung which he used in many challenges to defeat his opponents.He is also accredited for developing and creating the Sup Ying Kuen as a bridge form between Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen and Tid Sin Kuen.
He did not remarry again for many years until he met Mok Gwai Lan(see photo)through a funny but rather embarrassing indecent on Wong Fei Hungs behalf. It is said that Wong Fei Hung and his students were asked to perform lion dance and demonstrate gung fu for the anniversary of the Lam Hoi Association. After excellent Lion Dance performance and gung fu demonstration by his students, the grandmaster Wong Fei Hung stepped out to demonstrate his famous skills to the eagerly waiting crowd. During his performance, one of his shoe accidentally came of, flew into the crowd and hit a young woman in the face. Wong Fei Hung quickly approached her and apologized. However the young woman was furious and slapped Wong in the face and told him off in front of the whole crowd saying that such a famous master of gung fu had no excuse and should be more carefully. After this incident Wong Fei Hung could not forget about the young woman and later found out that her name was Mok Gwai Lan and she was not yet married. She was also from a respectable family of gung fu masters and was skilled in her family style of Mok Gar gung fu. ( Mok Gar is one of the 5 main family styles of the southern gung fu). It is sad that she learned Mok Gar under his uncle who was also a good friend of Wong Fei Hung. Despite the age difference Wong Fei Hung eventually married Mok Gwai Lan. Because of her back ground in Mok Gar gung fu and her interest, grandmaster Wong taught her the Hung Gar system. Later she became an instructor at her husbands school and was responsible for teaching a all women’s class. After Wong Fei Hung passed away (circa 1924) she moved to Hong Kong with her children and lived in Wanchai where she carried on teaching gung fu until her death. She was interwieved by Hong Kong TV a few times in the late sixties, and seventies. When She was about 83, she was interviewed by the Hong Kong TV and performed the famous Tiger and Crane form .
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