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Yongle Tongbao

Type Object Region China Time 1408–1644

Yongle Tongbao was a square-holed copper coin minted from 1408 under the Yongle Emperor, one of the most widely circulated standard currencies of the…

Timeline

  1. 1408Beijing · BeijingFrom the sixth year of Yongle, the Chengzu Emperor ordered the minting of Yongle Tongbao at the capital and at treasure-mint bureaus nationwide, standardizing the coin's inscription and form; alongside paper notes it became an important copper coin of Yongle-era finance and popular trade.
  2. 1441–1450Nanjing · NanjingAround the Zhengtong and Jingtai transition, Yongle Tongbao continued to be minted and widely circulated at the two capitals and provincial mints, supporting tax and corvée conversion and market trade alongside increasingly important physical copper coins amid depreciating paper notes.
  3. 1501–1644Jiangnan region · JiangnanAlthough new issues such as Hongzhi Tongbao were minted from the Hongzhi era onward, Yongle Tongbao remained in mixed circulation for a long time; warfare and hoarding left large quantities of Yongle coins surviving to this day, providing important physical evidence for Ming monetary history and archaeology.

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