Chinese characters Yuan Tong Yuan Bao ("Coinage of Yuantong") // Blank. 14mm, 1.93 grams. Hartill 19.75a.

Temple cash - standard coinage was not cast at the time. Temple coins were cast in small numbers for ceremonial purposes. The inscription refers to the Yuantong period (1333-1334) – this was the inaugural coinage of the long reign of Toghon Timur.

Ex-Stack's Bowers.

The Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) was founded by the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, after the conquest of the Song dynasty. It was the first dynasty to rule all of China under foreign leadership, with its capital at Khanbaliq (modern Beijing). The Yuan introduced major reforms: a centralized bureaucracy, standardized taxation, paper money, and expanded trade along the Silk Road. Despite its cosmopolitan culture and flourishing of arts, science, and commerce, the dynasty struggled with financial crises, natural disasters, and ethnic tensions between the Mongol elite and the Chinese majority. In 1368, the Yuan were overthrown by Zhu Yuanzhang, who founded the Ming dynasty, while remnants of the Mongol court retreated north to Mongolia, continuing as the Northern Yuan.