CHINA 2 cash year 14 (1221 AD) JIA DING TONG BAO

Description

Nailmarks are a term applied to lines, usually slightly curved, found on the reverses of coins of the Tang and Song dynasties. A romantic explanation is that the Emperor made a mark with his nail to indicate approval of the mould. Maybe so, but some of those marks are rather slapdash, so, in most cases. probably not.

Ning Zong liked to spend his time with poets and artists and neglected a war with the Jin state, which, in consequence, went badly. During this period the Mongols conquered the Jin state. It was the Jin who had forced the Song out of northern China.

Pressure from Turks, Tungus, and other peoples to the North grew until the Song felt obliged to retreat to the south. The Song paid tribute to the northern invaders, and continued their traditions in reduced circumstances until the coming of the Mongols.

The oldest Chinese coins are at least as old as the earliest Greek coins. The Chinese coinage system differed from other systems in two ways. It was monometallic, only bronze coins circulated in general commerce. Gold and silver were treated as commodities. And the manufacturing method was by casting in moulds rather than by striking heated solid planchets. The main reference I use in attributing and describing these coins is the book: Chinese Cast Coins, by David Hartill.