Two partially seen large Chinese characters Bu Quan ("Spade coin"), double rim inside the central hole, dash in the lower left corner of the hole / Blank. 17mm, 1.48 grams. Unlisted in both Scjoth or Hartill (for full coins, see Schjoth -; Hartill 9.70).
This is the scarce Zao Bian (chiseled rim) small type. The chiseled rim Bu Quan coins are not published in Hartill or Schjoth. They are known from a small number of hoards and are quite rare. 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. The light and small pieces with cruder calligraphy are attributed to the early Eastern Han period. Wang Mang (45 BC 6 October 23 AD), was a Han Dynasty official who seized the throne from the Liu family and founded the Xin (or Hsin, meaning "new") Dynasty, ruling AD 923. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow and his rule marks the separation between the Western Han Dynasty (before Xin) and Eastern Han Dynasty (after Xin). Some historians have traditionally viewed Wang as a usurper, while others have portrayed him as a visionary and selfless social reformer. Though a learned Confucian scholar who sought to implement the harmonious society he saw in the classics, his efforts ended in chaos. This coin is unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic.