Coin Daoguang tongbao

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 (“ordinary currency”) coins, which were worth one monetary unit, and yuanbao 元寶 (“original currency”) and zhongbao 重寶 (“heavy currency”), which had a higher face value. Such coins were in circulation as standard money, in many varieties and denominations, from the time of Emperor Gaozu 高祖 (reigned 618–626), 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 imperial reign or the single reign period (nianhao 年號) in which the coin was minted. The other two characters are read from right to left. On the left-hand side of the coin, we always find the character bao 寶 (wealth, preciousness), which in combination with the character on the right means “currency” or “money in circulation”. This is most often the character tong 通 (circulate, be uniform, general, or universal), but often it is also yuan 元 (original) or zhong 重 (weight), which usually denote coins with a larger face value. Thus, the entire inscription literally means “money in circulation during the time of this or that emperor” or “during this or that period of the reign of a single emperor”. Coins from the time of the last, Manchu Qing dynasty have, in addition to the inscription in four Chinese characters on the obverse, an inscription on the reverse, usually indicating the location of the mint. It was originally written in Chinese, then in Chinese and Manchu, and finally only in Manchu.

The coin on the photo is quite worn, but we can still make out the Chinese characters on its obverse side Daoguang tongbao 道光通寶, so we know that it was minted during the reign of Emperor Daoguang 道光 (reigned 1820–1850). The inscription on the reverse was probably written entirely in Manchu script, but the wear on the coin means that is no longer legible. We therefore cannot determine the location of the mint where it was produced. By the time of Daoguang, the Qing Dynasty was already facing many challenges, most notably related to the First Opium War (1839–1842) and the start of the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). The dispute regarding the opium trade and the subsequent military intervention were very costly, resulting in a shortage of money supply. The quality of coins was already deteriorating, and they were becoming more expensive to produce relative to their actual value. The coin is one such example of poorer quality, and is consequently in much poorer condition. (MG)