Four Chinese characters Chang Ping Wu Zhu ("The constant and regular Wu Zhu"), no inside rim, outside rim / Blank, inside and outside rim. Cast after 553 AD. 24.5mm, 4.35 grams. Hartill 13.27; Gratzer/Fishman "One Thousand Years of Wu Zhu Coinage" #8.68.

Rare, high quality, with original green patina. From the old stock of a US coin dealer.

The beautiful and well-made Chang Ping Wu Zhu coins were cast by the founder of the Northern Qi dynasty, Emperor Wen Xuan Di, in 553, in Hebei. The inscription Chang Ping Wu Zhu does not refer to the period title (current period title was Tianbao), but means the constant and regular Wu Zhu. The coins are carefully cast, showing beautiful calligraphy. It is not known when the casting ended; the coins are moderately rare, and it is likely that the casting lasted at least until the death of Wen Xuan Di (559), and possibly even longer, until the end of the Northern Qi in 577.

The Northern Qi (550–577 CE) was a short-lived dynasty in northern China, founded after the collapse of the Eastern Wei. Ruling from its capital at Ye (modern Hebei), it controlled much of the North China Plain. Despite cultural achievements in art and Buddhism, the state was plagued by court intrigues, weak rulers, and military decline. In 577, it was conquered by the Northern Zhou, ending its brief but notable place in the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.