Horse coins (Traditional Chinese: 馬錢; Simplified Chinese: 马钱; Pinyin: mǎ qián), alternatively dama qian (打馬錢),[1] are a type of Chinese numismatic charm that originated in the Song dynasty (or as early as the Tang dynasty)[1] and presumed to have been used as gambling tokens. Although many literary figures wrote about these coins their usage has always been failed to be mentioned by them. Most horse coins tend to be round coins, in diameter with a circular or square hole in the middle of the coin. The horses featured on horse coins are depicted in various positions such as lying asleep on the ground, turning their head while neighing, or galloping forward with their tails rising high. it is currently unknown how horse coins were actually used though it is speculated that Chinese horse coins were actually used as game board pieces or gambling counters. Horse coins are most often manufactured from copper or bronze, but in a few documented cases they may also be made from animal horns or ivory. The horse coins produced during the Song dynasty are considered to be those of the best quality and craftsmanship and tend be made from better metal than the horse coins produced after.[2] [3] Some horse coins would feature the name of the famous horses they depicted. It is estimated that there are over three hundred variants of the horse coin.[4] [5] [6] Some horse coins contained only an image of a horse while others also included an image of the rider and others had inscriptions which identify the horse or rider. During the beginning of the year of the horse in 2002 Chinese researchers Jian Ning and Wang Liyan of the National Museum of Chinese History wrote articles on horse coins in the China Cultural Relics Newspaper, noting that they found it a pity that the holes in the coins covered the saddles of the horses as this could have revealed more about ancient horse culture. Horse coins from the Song dynasty are the horse coins that are produced at the highest quality while horse coins from subsequent dynasties tend to be inferior compared to them.[7]
Horse coins often depicted famous horses from Chinese history or famous horses from Chinese mythology, while commemorative horse coins would also feature riders, such as the horse coin that features “General Yue Yi of the State of Yan” commemorating the event that a Yan general attempted to conquer the city of Jimo.[8] Another horse coin depicts the Chinese mythological horse long ju (龍駒), this horse was first mentioned in the "Rites of Zhou".[2] The Rites of Zhou describes a "dragon colt" as a horse which is "more than 8 chi (尺) tall" when its measured from its front hoof to the shoulder. One chi, during the Zhou dynasty period, was about 16.5 centimeters in the metric system.[2]
It is rare for horse coins to also feature images of horses in armour but a few rare examples from the Song dynasty exist (and it is even rarer for these coins to also feature a saddle) as well as some from the Mongol Yuan dynasty that feature horses wearing typical Mongolian horse armour. As horse coins from the Yuan dynasty are extremely rare there has not been much research undertaken in determining their usage and origins.[9]
Horse coins are referred to in Mandarin Chinese as either maqian (馬錢) or dama qian (打馬錢).[1]
When horse coins are used as game pieces they are referred to as dama geqian and when they are used as gambling pieces they are referred to as dama boxi .[10]
While there are many known varieties of horse coins, they can generally be categorised into three basic types based on their design.[10]
On the island of Java it was sometimes done to take an existing circulating cash coin, for example a Kan'ei Tsūhō (寛永通寳) cash coin, and engrave the design of a horse coin into it.[11] The Javanese also did this with other designs.[11]
Ferghana horse coins, also known as Sweating blood horse coins or Akhal-Teke horse coins, are a type of horse coin that feature Ferghana horses.[10] References to Ferghana horses have been traced back as far as the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty.[10] Ferghana horse coins don't include references to specific Ferghana horse, rather they display imagery and inscriptions used to represent the entire breed.[10] Ferghana horse coins date back to the Song dynasty.[10]
These horse coins display the image of a Ferghana horse with two Traditional Chinese characters hàn xiě (汗血) which translates into English as "sweats blood".[10]
Only a single specimen of a Ferghana horse coin with an identical obverse and reverse design (合背錢) dating to the Song dynasty is known to exist, it is 31 mm (1.2 inches) in diameter.[10] This coin was previously known to be in the collection of Mr. Wei Yutian (1854–1937) and was sold at the Xiling Yinshe Auction Co., Ltd. (西泠印社拍卖有限公司) 2017 Spring Auction for US$1,580 (or about 10,350 RMB).[12] [10]
List of types of horse coins depicting famous horses:[2]
| List of variants of horse coins | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transliteration | Literal English translation | Obverse image | Reverse image | |||
| Qin jiang san qi | 秦將散騎 | 秦将散骑 | "Followers of General Bai Qi" | |||
| Yan jiang yue yi | 燕將樂毅 | 燕将乐毅 | "General Yue Yi of the State of Yan" | |||
| Piao niao | 驃嫋 | 骠袅 | "Fast and slender" | |||
| Wu zhui | 烏騅 | 乌骓 | "Black spotted horse" | |||
| Tang jiang qian li | 唐將千里 | 唐将千里 | "Tang General 1,000 li" | |||
| Zhen guan shi ji Jue bo | 貞觀十驥 決波 | 贞观十骥 决波 | "Ten thoroughbreds of Zhen Guan" "Bursting as a wave" | |||
| Qian li | 千里 | 千里 | "1,000 li" | |||
| Qian li zhi ma | 千里之馬 | 千里之马 | "1,000 li horse" | |||
| Long ju | 龍駒 | 龙驹 | "Dragon's Colt" | |||
| Da-Song Jinqian Song Qi | 大宋金錢 宋騎 | 大宋金钱 宋骑 | "Great Song (dynasty) metal money" "A rider of the Song (dynasty)" | |||
| Ying gong zhu han[13] | 英公朱汗 | 英公朱汗 | "Duke of Ying, Red sweat" | |||
| Shanzi[14] | 山子 | 山子 | "Child of the mountains" | |||
| Han Xie | 汗血 | 汗血 | "Sweats blood" | |||
| Han Xie Han Xie | 汗血 汗血 | 汗血 汗血 | "Sweats blood" "Sweats blood" | |||
| King Mu of Western Zhou's horses ("The eight outstanding steeds") | ||||||
| Qu Huang | 渠黃 | 渠黄 | "Great Yellow" | |||
| Qu Huang zhi ma | 渠黃之馬 | 渠黄之马 | "The Great Yellow horse" | |||
| Lü Er | 綠耳 | 绿耳 | "Green ear" | |||
| Jue Di | 絕地 | 绝地 | "Beyond Earth" | |||
| Ben Xiao | 奔宵 | 奔宵 | "Rush by Night" | |||
| Fan Yu | 翻羽 | 翻羽 | "Windswept Plumes" | |||
| "Finer than Flashing Light" | ||||||
| Chao Ying | 超影 | 超影 | "Faster than Shadow" | |||
| Xie Yi | 挾翼 | 挟翼 | "Wing Bearer" | |||
| Chao Guang | 超光 | 超光 | "Faster than Light" | |||
| Teng Wu | 騰霧 | 腾雾 | "Rising Mist" | |||
| "Bay Steed" | ||||||
| Dao Li | 盜驪 | 盗骊 | "Smoked Ebony" | uncertain | ||
| Chi Ji | 赤驥 | 赤骥 | "Skewbald Chestnut" | uncertain | ||