China. Southern Song Dynasty. Lin An Fu (臨安府) Xing Yong (行用),Zhun Yi Bai Wen Sheng (準壹佰文省)。100 wen Lead coin tally. Hartill 17.902. Rarity rating of 2 (extremely rare). Attributed to the end of the Southern Song Dynasty which was beseiged by the Mongol Yuan armies, likely during the Jing Ding period (1260-64). Lin An Fu was the name of Hangzhou (杭州) in modern Zhejiang province which also happened to be the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. During these warring times, there was emergency measures to control the flow of coins to the Mongol enemies as well as monetary controls amidst the invading pressure on the capital. Lead and bronze tallies exists which corresponded with the face values on the tallies (10, 40, 100 cash in lead), (200, 300, 500 in bronze).
Nice coin/tally, with interesting background history. I guess the Mongols melt most of these after they overran Lin An Fu.
Beautiful Tallies, @Loong Siew . Thanks for the writeup. How big are these? I really think they are part of incredible period in History. Just finished the Chronicles of the Chinese Emperors, and remember this transition period to the Yuan Dynasty. And, I also really like Hangzhou, beautiful city, I enjoy that area of the country.
Probably..these emergency money was not issued in sufficient quantities to begin with. Smaller denominations were lead and don't survive long intact given their soft build.
This one is 18.5g and around 40x20mm. Hangzhou is an incredibly beautiful place.. i been there before and it has a very idyllic Chinese feel especially around the westlake..
Agreed. Been there many times. And, Westlake is a beautiful area. There was a nice restaurant nearby that I had my first pickled duck tongue.
Very interesting, I believe Chinese history gets so overlooked in the west. Oh, and when mentioning dining - the food in China is so much better than the westernized "Chinese" food in America.
Very nice. I don't think Southern Song coinage gets the attention it deserves. With normal bronze, lots of iron, the introduction of reign years and the tallies like these it really is an interesting period. SC
Haha.. though i am Chinese i probably still ain't adventurous enough to try a delicacy like that..lol
Yeah.. i try to encourage more from the west to appreciate Chinese culture and history more.. One of the world's oldest continuous civilisation has much to share especially one so distinct from western civilization
Yes.. I personally don't collect much Song Dynasty coins apart from a few interesting ones like these..Too many around..