Two large Chinese characters Huo Quan ("money coin"), with the protruding stroke on top of Quan, single inner rim around the central hole, raised outside rim / Single inner and outer rims, four protruding corners of the inner rim. 22mm, 2.91 grams. Hartill #9.36; Gratzer/Fishman "The Numismatic Legacy of Wang Mang" #5.46. SKU T1529-51314

This is a medium-sized Huo Quan cash (similar pieces with an inner rim also exist in "large" and "small" sizes). The outer rim on this coin was partially removed when these coins were reduced in size late in Wang Mang's reign.

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 9-23. 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.