Iron cash coins (; Vietnamese: Thiết tiền; Japanese: 鉄銭（てっせん）; Rōmaji: Tessen) are a type of Chinese cash coin that were produced at various times during the monetary history of imperial China as well as in Japan and Vietnam. Iron cash coins were often produced in regions where the supply of copper was insufficient, or as a method of paying for high military expenditures at times of war, as well as for exports at times of trade deficits.
While the earlier recorded iron cash coins in Chinese history were Wu Zhu's (五銖, 118 BC–618 AD), the unearthing or iron Ban Liang (半兩) cash coins produced during the Western Han dynasty during the 1950s indicates that they may have been much older than first thought. The largest number of iron cash coins would be produced during the Song dynasty period as a result of a scarcity of copper and high military expenditures, among other reasons. The last government attempt at issuing iron cash coins occurred during the 1850s the under the reign of the Manchu Qing dynasty.
Iron cash coins were not exclusively produced by the Chinese, as other cash coin producing countries would also issue them under similar circumstances or by private mints. In Japan iron Kan'ei Tsūhō (寛永通寳) cash coins were produced by the Kamedo mint in the 1760s.
Overview
Over the course of Chinese history a number of monarchs had tried to introduce iron cash coins to the market, but as their subjects never took to them, most of these attempts to issue them were rather short-lived. Sometimes bronze coins that were cast had a certain amount of iron in them, but in these cases the iron was not mixed into the copper-alloy itself, as it was just not removed during the production process, for example with some Warring States period round hole coins with the inscription "Yuan" (垣) which was made of about 30% iron. The mechanical strength of the cast coinages was thus reduced, but in the case of coins this was not as important as with tools as they did not serve any practical means other than their commodity value.
Iron cash coins were produced during the Han dynasty, Three Kingdoms period, Northern and Southern dynasties period, Five dynasties and Ten kingdoms period, Song dynasty, Jin dynasty (1115–1234), Western Xia dynasty, Ming dynasty, and Qing dynasty, but not during the Zhou dynasty, Jin dynasty (266–420), Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty, Liao dynasty, and Yuan dynasty periods.
Ban Liang cash coins
Western Han dynasty
It is possible that China first began using iron cash coins during the Western Han dynasty, this was concluded after a number of iron Ban Liang (半兩) cash coins were unearthed in Western Han era tombs in the Hunanese cities of Hengyang and Changsha between the years 1955 and 1959. Other specimens of iron Ban Liang cash coins were also unearthed in the province of Sichuan.
Wu Zhu cash coins
Chengjia
The Iron Wu Zhu's of Chengjia, which resemble the Western Han dynasty Wu Zhu coin, is attributed to Gongsun Shu, who rebelled in Sichuan in AD 25, and issued iron coins, two being equal to one Jian Wu Wu Zhu (). Head of the zhu component rounded. Typical of Eastern Han Wu Zhu's. In AD 30, a ditty was sung by the youths of Sichuan: "The yellow bull! the white belly! Let Wu Zhu cash coins return". This ridiculed the tokens of Wang Mang and the iron coins of Gongsun Shu, which were withdrawn by the Eastern Han Emperor Guangwu in the 16th year of Jian Wu (AD 40). The Emperor was advised that the foundation of the wealth of a country depends on a good political economy, which was found in the good old Wu Zhu coinage, and so reissued the Wu Zhu cash coins.
Liang dynasty
From the year 523 onwards the government of the Liang dynasty decided to cast iron Wu Zhu cash coins due to the fact that iron was both relatively easy and not expensive to acquire in what is today Sichuan. The iron cash coins issued by the Liang dynasty are quite distinctive from other iron cash coins as they have four lines that radiate outwards from each corner of the square center hole which is why they are referred to as "four corner coins" (四出錢, sì chū qián). As it became quite common for the people to cast iron cash coins privately based on these government issues it was not long before their quantities increased so drastically that it required cartloads of these iron Wu Zhu cash coins to pay for anything, even to this day these Wu Zhu's are quite common due to the widespread private production that plagued these iron issues. After them the Taiqing Fengle (太清豐樂, "Tai Qing Prosperous and Happy") cash coin was cast under the reign of Emperor Wu, these cash coins were actually believed to be Chinese numismatic charms until recently and were named after the Taiqing period (547-549).
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Kingdom of Min
Issued by Wang Shenzhi:
Kaiyuan Tongbao () have a large dot above on the reverse side. They are made of iron and date from 922. The same coin cast in bronze is extremely rare.
Issued by Wang Yanxi: Yonglong Tongbao () have the character Min () on the reverse and comes from the Fujian region. There is a crescent below. It is made of iron and dates from 942. One of these large Yong Long coins was worth 10 small coins and 100 lead coins. A string of 500 of these poorly made Min iron coins were popularly called a kao ().
Issued by Wang Yanzheng:
Tiande Tongbao () are made of iron. When Wang Yanzheng was proclaimed Emperor, he changed the name of the kingdom to Yin, but later restored the name of Min. One of these iron coins, which were cast in 944, was worth 100 ordinary cash.
Kingdom of Chu
Supreme Commander Ma Yin:
Tiance Fubao () are made of iron. Ma Yin, originally a carpenter, was given the rank of Supreme Commander of Tiance, Hunan, by Emperor Zhu Wen of the Later Liang, and minted this coin in 911 to commemorate the event. Ma Yin later became King Wumu of Chu. Qianfeng Quanbao () are made of iron. According to the histories, because there was much lead and iron in Hunan, Ma Yin took the advice of his minister Gao Yu to cast lead and iron coins at Changsha in 925. One of these was worth ten copper cash, and their circulation was confined to Changsha. Merchants traded in these coins, to the benefit of the State. In 2000, a hoard of over 3,000 of these coins was found near Changsha. Extremely rare bronze specimens are also known.
Later Shu
Guangzheng Tongbao () are made of bronze and iron. The bronze coins were cast by Meng Chang from the beginning of this period, 938. In 956, iron coins began to be cast to cover additional military expenses. They circulated until 963.
Southern Tang Kingdom
Emperor Yuan Zong (Li Jing) (943–961):
Baoda Yuanbao () has on the reverse the character tian above. They are made of iron and date between 943 and 957. There is also an extremely rare bronze example of this coin.
You Zhou Autonomous Region coinage
The You Zhou Autonomous Region (割據幽州) was proclaimed by the warlord Liu Rengong and later his son Liu Shouguang, who overthrew him. The Youzhou region is in what is today known as Beijing and surrounding areas in the Hebei Province. The geography of the region allowed it to maintain a level of autonomy during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period similar to the southern kingdoms. The region became autonomous in 822, but it wasn't until 900 that the Liu regime started.
The Liu warlords instituted a brutal regime, confiscating the circulating bronze cash coins and then buried them in a cave in Mount Da’an (in modern Beijing), which was under their control. After the coins were hidden away Liu Rengong ordered all the workmen to be executed and then sealed off the cave.
Consequently, in the absence of bronze cash coins the population became reliant cash coins made of clay for payments.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 266. Besides the clay cash coins, the You Zhou Autonomous Region's government also issued a variety of poorly-made large denomination iron cash coins. Among the coinages issued by the regime was also an iron spade coin with the inscription Huobu Sanbai (貨布三百, "spade money three hundred"), which resembles the Xin dynasty period Spade coins. Among the iron cash coins cast by the You Zhou Autonomous Region were also those that resembled the Wu Zhu cash coins of the Sui dynasty (隋五銖). Furthermore, the autonomous government also issued other poorly made iron cash coins which were imitations of cash coins of previous regimes and are attributed to the You Zhou, these iron cash coins with the inscription Shuntian Yuanbao (順天元寶) have a number of different characters on their reverse sides, including bǎi (百, "hundred") and qiān (千, "thousand").
The Yong'an (永安) title which appears on both bronze and iron cash coins from this period takes its inscription from a Xia dynasty period title, but they were likely cast due to unregulated private minting. Modern attribution of these cash coins is mostly based on archaeology.
Liu Shouguang proclaimed himself to be the Emperor of Great Yan (大燕皇帝, Dà yàn huángdì) adopting the era title of Yìng tiān (應天) in 911, issuing a number of new iron cash coins. However, while these iron cash coins are typically attributed to this regime, this attribution is not generally accepted. The calligraphy found on these cash coins resembles the calligraphy found on cash coins by the Later Liang with the inscriptions Kaiping Tongbao (開平通寶) and Kaiping Yuanbao (開平元寶). Furthermore, of each these of these cash coins a single genuine specimen is generally believed to exist, all of which are in the private collections of Japanese citizens, meaning that they are currently not available for further research to affirm this attribution.
List of coins issued by the You Zhou Autonomous Region