
Two Chinese characters Huo Quan ("sping of goods"), double inside rim, outside rim / Inside and outside rims. 25mm, 8.79 grams. Hartill #9.60. SKU T413-30324
This is a medium-sized "cake" coin, not quite as huge as the earliest pieces, but about 3 times heavier than the common later Huo Quans. These medium "cake" pieces are rare. 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.