Silver Bai Jin San Pin, Turtle Coin Fu Xiao for 300 Cash Emperor Han Wudi 119 BC
Ancient China, Western Han, Han Wudi Emperor
Silver, Bai Jin San Pin -白金三品, 119 BCE
龜幣, 復小, 直三百- the Turtle Coin, the name is Fu Xiao, value 300 cash
㔹光 Le Guang, shao fu 少府 mint



Authenticity guaranteed for all items!
Material: Solid Silver; Weight: 13.5 grams; Size: 40 mm
Very Attractive black silver tone, Extremely Rare!
Bai Jin San Pin -白金三品, 119 BCE
龜幣, 復小, 直三百- the Turtle Coin, the name is Fu Xiao, value 300 cash
 
Obv: Turtle Shell Pattern, chop mark, shao 少 for shao fu 少府 (emperor's private treasury)
Rev: 㔹光 Le Guang, in Seal script
 
Shao Fu 少府 mint
 
The lead coins in the market are funeral coins.
 
 
Bai Jin San Pin 白金三品

Baijin Sanpin is a set of three types of coins: Dragon, Horse and Turtle issued in the Han dynasty 119 BCE. "Bai Jin" 白金 refers to the metal, White Gold, here means Silver, "San Pin" 三品 refers to the fact that it was a series of three coins with different denominations.
Dragon, Horse and Turtle, 龍, 馬, 龜
天用莫如龍，地用莫如馬，人用莫如龜，故白金三品
 


This is part of the Bai Jin San Pin series of coins or tokens issued by Han Wudi. The "bai jin" refers to the metal (Silver), "san pin" refers to the fact that it was a series of three coins with different denominations: Dragon, Horse and Turtle, the last being the most rare. Refer to the article in Shanghai Symposium, "The Bai Jin San Pin Coinage of Han Wudi: Early Influences From the Silk Road" by James T. Anderson. There are about 380 known specimens of the dragon type including 274 pieces located at the Ling Tai County Museum, Gansu Province, China.
 
Emperor Wu of Han
Emperor Wu of Han (30 June 156 BC – 29 March 87 BC), born Liu Che, courtesy name Tong, was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of China, ruling from 141–87 BC.[3] His reign lasted 54 years — a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor more than 1,800 years later. His reign resulted in vast territorial expansion, development of a strong and centralized state resulting from his governmental re-organization, including his promotion of Confucian doctrines. In the field of historical social and cultural studies, Emperor Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts, including development of the imperial Music Bureau into a prestigious entity. It was also during his reign that cultural contact with western Eurasia was greatly increased, directly or indirectly. Many new crops and other items were introduced to China during his reign.
 
 
官方文献的法定银质钱币是汉武帝元狩四年（公元前119年）铸造的白金三品，材质为银锡合金，色纯白。又造銀錫為白金。以為天用莫如龍，地用莫如馬，人用莫如龜，故白金三品
白金三品分三种：重8两的圆形龙币（称为“白选”）、重6两的方形马币和重4两的椭圆形龟币，分别值四铢半两铜钱3000、500和300文。
 
漢武帝幣制改革
漢武帝幣制改革指中國西漢武帝統治時期進行的幣制改革。西漢自建立以來，幣制混亂，郡國鑄幣失控又是漢景帝時期七國之亂發生的原因之一，故漢武帝即位後，為了中央政府在經濟管理和政治統治上的需要，便十分重視解決幣制問題，先後進行了六次幣制改革，基本解決了漢初以來一直未能解決的幣制問題，一方面穩定了金融，另一方面將漢高帝下放地方的鑄幣權重新統一於中央。
第三次改革
元狩四年（前119年），漢武帝又下令重新鑄造三銖錢，並造白鹿皮幣和白金三品。為了抑制盜鑄，漢武帝還頒布了盜鑄金錢者死罪令。此次改革是漢武帝歷次幣制改革中動作較大的一次。
《史記·平準書》載，「是時禁苑有白鹿而少府多銀錫。自孝文更造四銖錢，至是歲四十餘年，從建元以來，用少，縣官往往即多銅山而鑄錢，民亦閒盜鑄錢，不可勝數。錢益多而輕，物益少而貴。有司言曰：「古者皮幣，諸侯以聘享。金有三等，黃金為上，白金為中，赤金為下。今半兩錢法重四銖，而姦或盜摩錢裏取鎔，錢益輕薄而物貴，則逺方用幣煩費不省。」乃以白鹿皮方尺，縁以藻繢，為皮幣，直四十萬。王侯宗室朝覲聘享，必以皮幣薦璧，然後得行。」即皮幣的實行，主要是為王侯宗室朝覲聘享之用，使他們向中央政府的納貢不受劣錢影響。
由於少府多銀錫，「又造銀錫為白金。以為天用莫如龍，地用莫如馬，人用莫如龜，故白金三品：其一曰重八兩，圜之，其文龍，名曰「白選」，直三千；二曰以重荖小，方之，其文馬，直五百；三曰復小，撱之，其文龜，直三百。」白金三品幣值介於三銖與黃金之間，這樣就形成了一套比過去更加複雜的貨幣體系。中央政府通過手中積累的此前並非貨幣的銀錫，定以高價，即可借機剝奪大商人的財富，增加中央財政收入。
 
漢武帝還「令縣官銷半兩錢，更鑄三銖錢，文如其重。」這是繼第一次改革後，再次試圖以三銖代替半兩的舉措。
 
但是，這次幣制改革及禁民盜鑄之令並沒能在根本上遏制民間鑄錢，幣值較高的白金三品的推行反而刺激了民間盜鑄行爲。「盜鑄諸金錢罪皆死，而吏民之盜鑄白金者不可勝數。」
對於皮幣的實行，有的大臣也有不同意見。大農顏異便是其中之一。「上與湯旣造白鹿皮幣，問異。異曰：「今王侯朝賀以倉璧，直數千，而其皮薦反四十萬，本末不相稱。」天子不說。」
 
少府，中国古代中央官名，历代职掌不一, 战国时，始置少府，掌管手工业和国君的私人庄园。秦汉沿置少府，列为九卿之一，负责征收山海地泽收入和管理手工业制造，掌管天子私用的府库及私人的收入。
 
 
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