Bingqian (), or ''Bingxingqian'' (), is a term, which translates into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

as "biscuit coins", "pie coins", or "cake coins", used by

mainland Chinese Mainland Chinese or mainlanders are Chinese people who live in or have recently emigrated from mainland China, defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) except for Hong Kong ( SAR of the PRC), Macau (SAR of the PRC) ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

ese coin collectors to refer to

cash coins In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In book-keeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-imm ...

with an extremely broad rim, as these cash coins can be very thick. However, the earliest versions of the Bingqian did not have extraordinarily broad rims. These cash coins were produced during two distinct periods in

Chinese history The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

, first they were produced under Emperor

Wang Mang Wang Mang (45 BCE6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the ...

of the

Xin dynasty The Xin dynasty (; ), also known as Xin Mang () in Chinese historiography, was a short-lived Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty which lasted from 9 to 23 AD, established by the Han dynasty consort kin Wang Mang, who usurped th ...

and later again during the reign of

Emperor Zhenzong Emperor Zhenzong of Song (23 December 968 – 23 March 1022), personal name Zhao Heng, was the third emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 997 to his death in 1022. His personal name was originally Zhao Dechang, but was change ...

of the

Northern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

. Only a very small quantity of Chinese cash coins were ever produced that had these very broad rims and/or had a very thick composition. While there have been speculations about their use, the purpose of these broad rimmed cash coins have yet to be determined.

Xin dynasty

The first instance of Bingqian had been produced under the reign of Emperor

of the

.Yuan Tao () - ''Text on Huo Quan "cake coins"'' () - "Jiangsu Numismatics" 2012 No. 1 () - Changzhou Numismatic Society ().- Quote: . He reigned between the years 7 and 23 AD and during this era Huo Quan () cash coins which are commonly referred to as Binqian were produced, these cash coins were both heavy in weight and thick in their composition, but differed from the later Song dynasty era Bingqian in that their rims were not significantly broader than those of other cash coins. The inscription of Huo Quan cash coins is read from

right to left A writing system comprises a set of symbols, called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which the script represents a particular language. The earliest writing appeared during the late 4th millennium BC. Throughout history, each independen ...

and they were cast beginning in the year 14 AD. They also notably use a different calligraphic style than the ones found on Western Han dynasty cash coins, which is believed to have been pioneered on these Bingqian. Uncharacteristically, the characters on Huo Quan Bingqian appear in various forms, implicitly covering the concept of "format" (版式) that was used in later dynasties, meaning that the calligraphic styles of these Bingqian can be considered to be a breakthrough for the development of currency culture. Like the later Bingqian, some heave Huo Quan cash coins have four diagonal lines protruding (or radiating) from the corners of the square centre hole of the coin, while uniquely to these cash coins, they can have large blobs situated both above and below the square hole in the center. It is suspected that these Wang Mang era Bingqian might be an early form of

Chinese numismatic charm Yansheng Coins ( zh , first=t , t=厭勝錢, s=厌胜钱, hp=yàn shèng qián), commonly known as Chinese numismatic charms, refer to a collection of special decorative coins that are mainly used for rituals such as fortune telling, Chinese ...

s, but the exact meaning of these symbols remain to be discovered. Regular Huo Quan cash coins tend to have a weight of 3 grams. Huo Quan Bingqian can have a diameter of 23.3 millimeters and a weight of 7 grams, making them heavier than the standard issue Huo Quan cash coins. The largest Huo Quan Bingqian can weigh more than 15 grams.

Song dynasty

During the reign of

of the

, the

era names A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a t ...

of Xianping (, 998–1003), Jingde (, 1004–1007), Dazhong Xiangfu (, 1008–1016), and Tianxi (, 1017–1021) were used. Despite these four different reign titles being used during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, the only known Bingqian from this era contain the inscriptions Xianping Yuanbao () and Xiangfu Yuanbao (), while no authentic Bingqian with the legends Jingde Yuanbao (), Xiangfu Tongbao (), and Tianxi Tongbao () have ever been recorded. Bingqian have been the subject of works written by notable Chinese numismatic scholars such as

Ma Dingxiang Ma, MA, or mA may refer to: Academia * Master of Arts, a degree award * Marin Academy, a high school in San Rafael, California * Menlo-Atherton High School, a public high school in Atherton, California * Minnehaha Academy, a private high schoo ...

() and Dai Baoting (), who have all created different hypotheses about both their origin and function, but why these thicker and heavier cash coins were created remains to be discovered. There are a far fewer number of Xiangfu Yuanbao Bingqian recorded than Bingqian versions of Xianping Yuanbao cash coins. The most common Xianping Yuanbao cash coins have a thickness between 2.14 – 2.6 millimeters and they tend to have a weight between 2.2 – 5.8 grams, while a Bingqian versionq of the Xianping Yuanbao can have a diameter as wide as 46.7 millimeters and weight as heavy as 73.2 grams. The largest recorded Xianping Yuanbao Bingqian has a diameter of 66 millimeters. Because Bingqian are thick, they are sometimes confused for mother coins, this is not only because of both their heavier build and in some cases their deeper cut characters. While in the year 2019 a "normal" Xianping Yuanbao was valued only at 2 yuan, a Bingqian Xianping Yuanbao cash coin during this same time was valued at 500 yuan on average. Many Bingqian have been discovered in the province of

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

, and it's likely that they originated from this region. These heavy cash coins with wide rims are not standardised in both their size and their weight, which means that a large variety of Bingqian from this period have been recorded. It is currently unknown whether or not Bingqian actually circulated as an actual form of currency and what their contemporary value was. It is currently unknown why these very heavy cash coins with broad rims were produced. Chinese numismatist Sun Zhonghui () in his attributed these Bingqian with certainty to the Northern Song dynasty period. Furthermore, in ''Guqian Bitujie'' he hypothesised that the Bingqian were created in what is now known as Sichuan because the government of the Song dynasty had confiscated all copper items and circulating

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

cash coins, which resulted in a shortage of copper in the region. The government had then introduced

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

cash coins, or , which had dramatically increased the

purchasing power Purchasing power refers to the amount of products and services available for purchase with a certain currency unit. For example, if you took one unit of cash to a store in the 1950s, you could buy more products than you could now, showing that th ...

of the copper-alloy cash coins while decreasing the purchasing power of iron cash coins. At the time there were three mints operating in Sichuan producing iron cash coins. Because large and heavy copper-alloy coins like these Bingqian would have had real monetary value in Sichuan at the time, Sun Zhonghui notes that the probability is quite likely that these extraordinarily large cash coins had circulated as a valid currency.

Variants

* Some Bingqian have what are called reverses, these reverses are found on some Song dynasty period cash coins, which means that these cash coins have the corners of their square centre hole extend somewhat outwards towards the rim of the cash coin. * There have been Xianping Yuanbao Bingqian recorded with a diameter of 26.5 millimeters and a weight of 10.68 grams, 26.5 millimeters, 28.4 millimeters, a Xianping Yuanbao cash coin with a diameter of 30.1 millimeters and a thickness of 2.5 millimeters, one with a diameter of 32.5 millimeters, one with a diameter between 31 and 31.1 millimeters with a thickness between 4.5 and 4.53 millimeters,Jucangtianxi -
- www.jucangtianxia.com - 31-31.1 mm 4.5-4.53 mm
Retrieved: 16 February 2020. (in

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

). 34.0 millimeters, and a Xianping Yuanbao Bingqian with a diameter of 44.0 millimeters, a thickness of 6 millimeters, and a weight of 72.0 grams, this specimen further had ''si chu'' (, ''sì chū''). * There is a variant of the Bingqian known as "the double-folded cake coins" (). * A Xiangfu Yuanbao Bingqian, which are significantly rarer than Xianping Yuanbao Bingqian, has been recorded with a diameter of 26.4 millimeters and was listed at an auction in the city of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

in the year 2014. * A Xianping Yuanbao with a diameter of 46.7 millimeters and a weight of 73.2 grams was sold at auction in the year 2013 for $2,623 (which at the time was 17,250 yuan). * The largest Bingqian known to exist is a Xianping Yuanbao with a diameter of 66 millimeters.Artxun
2008 auction, with an estimated price of $9,124 – $15,207 (RMB 60,000 – 100,000)
Retrieved: 15 February 2016. (in

) This cash coin was owned by the Chinese numismatist

(), it was listed at an auction in the year 2008 with an estimated price of $9,124 – $15,207 (or between 60,000 – 100,000 yuan).

Ming dynasty

During the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

some Chongzhen Tongbao ( were produced, these cash coins have a diameter of 24 millimeters and a weight of 5.9 grams, as well as ''si jue'' (), four lines on the reverse side of the coin radiating outward from the corners of the square-shaped hole in the middle.

Qing dynasty

Some numismatists refer to the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

period concept of Daqian () as "Bingqian" because of the coins' relatively increased size, making them resemble the Bingqian used by older dynasties.Shuai Zhaodong () - ''A piece of Xianfeng Zhongbao cake money'' () - "Xinjiang Numismatics" Issue 4, 2002 ().

Notes

References

Sources

* * Ma Dingxiang () - ''Ancient Chinese coins'', August 1999 (1999年8月). (in

). * Peng Xinwei () (1954

007 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

. ''Zhongguo huobi shi'' () (

: Qunlian chubanshe), 580–581, 597–605. (in

). * Peng Xinwei () (1994) ''A monetary history of China'' (translated by Edward H. Kaplan).

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

( Bellingham,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

). * Sun Zhonghui () - ''Guqian Bitujie'' (). {{Chinese currency and coinage Coins of China Cash coins Song dynasty Chinese numismatics