Volume 6 ~ Kosen Daizen … Chong Ning to Xuan He

Kosen Daizen
Northern Song Dynasty Cash Variety Guide, Volume 6

Translated into English, with parallel Chinese (Pinyin Romanisation), and provided with a variety numbering system.
by Norman F. Gorny

Volume 6 of Northern Song Dynasty Cash Variety Guide is a re-presentation in English of the varieties of Northern Song cash from Chong Ning to Xuan He found in volume 3 of KOSEN DAIZEN by Imai Teikichi (1888). This monumental work on Chinese cash by a formidable Japanese scholar builds upon numismatic research done two generations earlier by Yamada Kosho and published in FUGO SENSHI (two volumes, 1827-1829).

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Volume 6, Kosen Daizen, Chong Ning to Xuan He, published in large easy-to-read 8-1/2 x 11" (21 x 28cm) format, 40 pages, stapled binding.
Price (USD): $8 each, plus postage (USA, $1.50 media; Canada, $2.00 air mail; Other Countries, $4.50 air mail).
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Excerpted from the
Introduction to Volume 6

As Volume 5 ended with the "slender gold style" Chong Ning Tong Bao, the current volume begins with the "clerkly orthodox" Chong Ning Zhong Bao in all sizes, before passing on to the rest of the reign titles of this emperor through the Xuan He Yuan Bao series.

With Sheng Song Yuan Bao (covered in Volume 5), the production of matching cash in seal and cursive style that was inaugurated by emperor Shen Zong comes to an end after about 24 years. The artist and calligrapher emperor Hui Zong introduced Chong Ning Tong Bao in a.d. 1102, which was written in one script style only, that of his personal invention, and named by him "slender gold style." This elegant script is a refined form of orthodox, and it was used again on Da Guan Tong Bao in a.d. 1107. Except for some iron Xuan He Tong Bao written in "slender gold," that is the last we see of it in Northern Song coinage. Later, something like it will appear on the coinage of minority peoples, such as the Da Ding Tong Bao of the Jin dynasty.

In this sixth volume we continue to study the cash coinage of the first two decades of the twelfth century, noticing how the tradition of matching cash reasserts itself after nine years of experimental large cash coinage. In the Zheng He reign, currency is again produced in matching seal script and clerkly orthodox styles. The orthodox coins, however, are not written in strictly one style, and once again, as in the Sheng Song reign, we find two or even three script styles on the same coin, which nonetheless we must call "orthodox." Matching cash then continue till the end of the reign in a.d. 1125, always being issued in seal script and clerkly orthodox writing.

As this catalog aims to be a faithful rendition in English of the original KOSEN DAIZEN, the inclusion of charms based on Chong Ning and Da Guan reign titles was necessary. However, the rubbings for these are not shown actual size, to save space.