Two large Chinese characters Huo Quan ("wealth/money coin") / Blank. Chiseled outside rim. 18.3mm, 1.5 grams. Gratzer/Fishman #C5.133; Hartill 9.65.

The coin is slabbed and authenticated. It is a high grade example with a nice green patina.

Some of the coins of Wang Mang were privately filed down to reduce their size and weight, reflecting the inflationary reduction of the weight of Huo Quan cash. The exact dating of these coins is uncertain; they were probably produced toward the end of Wang Mang’s reign or even later.

The coins of Wang Mang were produced for many years after his death (at least until 40 AD), probably mostly unofficially, under the Eastern Han dynasty. This was because the character quan contained two radicals, bai and shui, which happened to be the name of the village (Bai Shui) in Henan, where Emperor Guang Wu (the founder of the Eastern Han dynasty) was born. 

SKU  xv788-w72436