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1 Cash - Xianping Yuanbao, Tin imitation
| Issuer | Malay peninsula |
|---|---|
| Year | |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Cast tin cash coin of round form pierced by a central square hole, imitating the Song Dynasty Xianping Yuanbao type. Four Chinese characters in regular script (kaishu) are disposed in cruciform arrangement around the central aperture, reading top-to-bottom and right-to-left: 咸 (xian), 平 (ping), 元 (yuan), 寶 (bao). The characters are rendered in low relief against a flat field, with a raised inner rim framing the square hole and a raised outer rim encircling the coin. The surfaces display the coarse granular texture characteristic of tin casting, with evident die wear and metal flow typical of locally produced Malay peninsula imitative pieces. |
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain, featureless reverse with a central square hole surrounded by a raised inner rim and an outer raised rim. The flat field bears no inscription, decoration, or mint marks, consistent with the simplified production methods employed for tin cash imitations circulating on the Malay peninsula. The surface exhibits mottled grey patination and casting porosity characteristic of tin alloy pieces of this type. |
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| Additional information |
These tin cash pieces were produced locally on the Malay peninsula as substitutes for Chinese copper cash, which circulated widely across Southeast Asian trade networks but were chronically undersupplied. Tin was the obvious local substitute — the peninsula sat atop some of the world's most accessible tin deposits — and these imitations filled genuine transactional gaps rather than functioning as counterfeits in any fraudulent sense.
The Xianping reign spanned 998–1003 AD under Emperor Zhenzong of the Song dynasty, though the Malay imitations were almost certainly struck well after that date.