A Forged 3-Cash Coin
with Da An legend

V.Belyaev
January 29, 2002
Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Weight 7.84 g, diameter 29.1 mm

Obverse: Chinese Da An Tong Bao
     

Reverse: plain

Metal: copper

      Daan is a reign title used by some rulers from different dynasties - Western Xia (1076-1086 AD), Liao (1083-1092 AD) and Jin (1209-1212 AD).
      This is what we can say about genuine coins with reign title daan:

  • Western Xia coins have the legend Da An Tung Bao reading top-bottom-right-left;
  • Western Xia and Liao coins have the size and weight of an ordinary (never triple) cash;
  • Liao coins with this reign title have the legend Da An Yuan Bao reading top-right-bottom-left;
  • the calligraphic style of Western Xia and Liao coins is very different from the 3-cash coin shown here;
  • no Jin coins with this reign title are known.
      A closer examination of this specimen shows that it is a 3-cash coin altered manually (just re-engraved) from a most common Yuan Feng Tung Bao (Northern Song); compare it with the rubbing taken from Hua Guanpu's 3-volume catalog, page 476:

The following image is my diligent attempt, in as much as I'm up to it (sorry, I'm not an artist :-), to show the strokes effaced from the upper and right characters in order to get the large 3-cash Da An Tung Bao pictured above (the removed parts are shown in green):

The enlarged image of this coin discloses fresh traces of the cutter's work around and inside Da and An; click on the picture below to see in augmented details how the characters have been altered:
Click image to enlarge

English proof reading - V.Nastich
Chinese Coinage Web Site