Cash coin with offset square hole

[capnbirdseye]

Here is another to identify,  it has the square hole punched the wrong way, is that an indication of a foreign copy of a Chinese coin?


4.30g,  24.5mm

[Figleaf]

I believe the hole was made in the mould, not carved out after casting. I think I can see three corner of the original hole. Maybe the scenario was that the mould had not closed well or was deformed. As a result, part of the hole was filled with metal, thick enough that the mint workers were unable to break it off. After cooling, cash coins were rigged on a square pole, all with the end of the casting canal on one side, so that the flues could be filed off. Your coin would not fit, because of the metal in one corner, so it was rammed down the stake. Apparently, the coin was thinner than the objectionable metal in the hole, so the coin turned and the stake forced a new, offset hole.

As for the coin, my best guess is emperor Renzong, era bao yuan (1038-1040), standard writing. Not only the bad strike, but also the sloppiness of the characters, especially at 6 o'clock lead me to believe that this is an imitation.

Peter

[capnbirdseye]

Using your info Peter I found this one on Wiki, Huang Song Tong Bao    皇宋通寶    皇宋通宝    Regular script, Seal script    1039–1054    Renzong

It appears to be the same

[Figleaf]

Their dating is off (compare characters in the wiki lemma linked to above), but otherwise, yes that's what it was supposed to look like. On the top character, you can see how the vertical strokes are supposed to be tapering, while on yours they are straight. The bottom character is hardly recognisable on your coin. BTW, regular script, not seal script.

Keep in mind that these are cast coins, not coins struck with hand-cut dies but coming out of a mould that was directly or indirectly shaped by a single official seed coin. Subtle differences count, even on quite old coins.

Peter

[bgriff99]

The coin is probably original.   It has some poor casting, but diameter and weight are high.    The center hole is not often seen punched out rotated that much.   The hole is cast in but did sometimes need punching.    For edge filing they were put together on a tapered square rod, and one or two jammed on the end rotated 45 degrees to hold them tightly.   That creates the rosette hole.    This coin required a separate punch to clear it.   The smaller corner marks may be from trying to push it on the filing rod.

[capnbirdseye]

Perhaps this was one of those that were rotated and jammed on the end to hold them on the filing rod ?

[Figleaf]

The filing rod was tapered. The first coin would get stuck before it could fall off on the other side.

Peter