Han Dynasty Coin Mould Workshop

Han Dynasty Coin Mould Workshop

Han Dynasty Coin Mould Workshop The site of a coin mould workshop from the Xinmang period of the Han Dynasty is located south of Heicheng Village, Dianzi Township, Ningcheng County. In 1976, trial excavations conducted by the Municipal Cultural Relics Workstation unearthed a batch of pottery moulds for the Xinmang-era coins "Daquan Wushi" (Large Coin Fifty) and "Xiaoquan Zhiyi" (Small Coin One), mostly mother moulds. Most of these mother moulds had been dried indoors, making them relatively hard and reddish-brown in color. There were also a small number that had been made but not yet dried, which were looser in texture and more brittle, appearing in an earthy red hue. Both types of mother moulds were regular rectangles, with a circular funnel-shaped pouring gate at the center front. On either side of the pouring gate, there were vent grooves.

For the "Daquan Wushi" mother moulds, each contained 64 coin imprints arranged in 6 rows—4 middle rows with 11 imprints each, and 2 side rows with 10 imprints each. The coin imprints were raised, with a diameter of 3 cm. The entire mother mould measured 60 cm in length, 23.8 cm in width, and 6 cm in thickness. The pouring gate was 5.2 cm wide and 5 cm deep. The vent grooves were 15 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.

For the "Xiaoquan Zhiyi" mother moulds, each contained 150 coin imprints arranged in 10 rows, with 15 imprints per row. The moulds measured 49 cm in length, 22 cm in width, and 4 cm in thickness. The pouring gate was 4 cm deep and 4.2 cm wide, and the vent grooves were 13 cm long and 1 cm wide. The coin diameter was 1.4 cm. On either side of the pouring gate on the mother mould, two vertical rows of inscriptions in relief, written in official script reversed, indicated the date. The right row read "Hou Zhong Guan Gong Pao Zao Shi" (7 characters), with an additional character "Shi" (ten) to the right of the character "Hou", as well as "Qian Zhong Guan Gong Liang Zao Di" (8 characters). The left side read "Shi Jian Guo Yuan Nian San Yue" (March of the first year of the Shijian Guo era). The Zhongguan was the central government office in the Han Dynasty responsible for minting coins, and the "" signified the administrative region or commandery where the coins were produced. This site was a coin mint from a commandery or kingdom during the Wang Mang period. The coin inscriptions were in relief seal script, with clear lettering.

In addition, coins from the Western Han Dynasty such as Banliang, Wu Zhu, Daquan Wushi, and Xiaoquan Zhiyi were also unearthed.