Coin Taiping tianguo shengbao

A round copper alloy coin with a square hole in the centre, called fangkong qian 方孔錢. These appeared in various denominations, mostly as tongbao 通寶 (“common currency”) coins, which were worth one monetary unit, yuanbao 元寶 (“original currency”) and zhongbao 重寶 (“heavy currency”) which had higher denominations. In many varieties and denominations, such coins had been in circulation as standard money since the time of Emperor Gaozu 高祖 (reigned 618–626), the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) until the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). The inscription on the coin usually consists of two characters, reading from top to bottom, indicating the name of the reign or the period in which the coin was minted. The other two characters are to be read from right to left. On the left-hand side of the coin is usually the character bao 寶 (wealth, preciousness), which in combination with the character on the right means “currency” or “money in circulation”. This is usually the character tong 通 (circulate, be uniform, general or universal), but often alsoyuan 元 (origin, basis) or zhong 重 (weight), which usually denote coins with a larger face value. Thus, the entire inscription literally means “money in circulation at the time of this or that emperor” or “in this or that period of a single emperor’s reign”.

The coin in the photo is an example of money minted by Taiping rebels in their territories in the mid-19th century. The Taiping Rebellion (Taiping tianguo yundong 太平天國運動) was the largest internal rebellion in Chinese history. It broke out in 1850 during the reign of Emperor Daoguang 道光 (reigned 1820–1850) and raged throughout the reign of Emperor Xianfeng 咸豐 (reigned 1850–1861). It was suppressed only in 1864 during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi 同治 (reigned 1861–1875). It covered 16 Chinese provinces, dealt a severe blow to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), caused enormous economic damage and poverty, and claimed millions of lives. The ideological leader of the rebellion was the Christian-inspired Hong Xiuchuan 洪秀全 (1814–1864), who was hailed by his followers in Guangxi in 1843 as the “Heavenly King” (Tianwang 天王)” of the “Heavenly Taiping Kingdom” or “Heavenly Empire of Universal Peace” (Taiping tianguo 太平天國). In 1853, the rebels occupied Nanjing, where they established their base or capital, and then soon conquered the territories of today’s Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu provinces, introducing their regime in the conquered areas. Numerous coins have survived to this day, testifying to the fact that the Taipings also minted their own money. The quality of the coins was poorer, but the large number of different types of coins suggests that money production in the Taiping territories was quite extensive. This coin bears the inscription Taiping tianguo on the obverse, meaning “Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping”, and the inscription shengbao 聖寶 on the reverse, meaning “sacred currency”. (MG)