Rare Yon Tong Wan Gup large coin, Emperor Xuan (578-79), N. Zhou dynasty, China

Four Chinese characters Yon Tong Wan Guo (“Everlasting Circulation in Thousand Kingdoms”) / Blank. 30mm, 5.2 grams. Issued in 579 AD. Hartill 13.32. Heavy original patina, professional repairs. Very attractive example with brown-green patina. These coins were cast in 579 – they were inflationary coins, worth ten of the old Wu Xing coins. The Emperor died later the same year and the coins were quickly discontinued. This attractive type, with the inscriptions written in the greatly admired Yu Zhu script, gave rise to many imitations and later casts. The original large coins, like this one, are rare.