4 ms·

I wonder if the locals using it thought: “what is this strange hieroglyphics marking on the coin?”

nexthash 6y ago
That relies on the assumption that English locals were clueless about the outside world - on the contrary, intercontinental trade networks were especially established around this time. The nobility would've been importing goods from all around Europe, the Mediterranean, and even China through the Silk Road link. While knowledge about what was "over there" probably varied, I would suppose locals would at least be aware of "lands to the East" and view the coin in that context.
yorwba 6y ago
For people in 2021 still wondering about that: ／祥＼寶□符＼元／祥符 xiáng fú (auspicious sign) referring to an era during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song and 元寶 yuán bǎo being a common way to mark coins (寶 bǎo meaning treasure)
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- blackrock 6y ago
  Whoah. Song Dynasty China was the best. At least before the Mongols invaded and turned everything to shit. Song Dynasty might have been ancient China’s best chance to kickstart the industrial revolution in China. After the Mongol wars, the Mongols claimed the throne for ~100 years. Then, the Ming retook power. But, something was lost. And China was never the same again. And the rest is history.
- namelosw 6y ago
  Also 元(yuán) is exactly 'Chinese Yuan' you hear about today.
  - yorwba 6y ago
    ... except the name of the modern currency is derived from 圓 yuán, meaning "circle", and 元 is only used as a simplified version because they're homophones in Standard Mandarin. According to Zhengzhang Shangfang's reconstruction, their Middle Chinese pronunciations were /ŋʉɐn/ 元 and /ɦˠiuᴇn/ 圓 respectively.
Ichthypresbyter 6y ago
There is a surviving coin minted for the 8th century King Offa of Mercia (in what is now central England) with the Shahadah on it in badly-spelled Arabic, even though Mercia had been Christian for over a century when the coin was minted. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/gold-dinar-of-king-offa# https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/gold-dinar-of-king-offa# (The coin is a copy of an Abbasid dinar from 773-4 CE, with "OFFA REX" added to it. It's the oldest known gold coin from post-Roman Britain.)

That relies on the assumption that English locals were clueless about the outside world - on the contrary, intercontinental trade networks were especially established around this time. The nobility would've been importing goods from all around Europe, the Mediterranean, and even China through the Silk Road link. While knowledge about what was "over there" probably varied, I would suppose locals would at least be aware of "lands to the East" and view the coin in that context.

yorwba 6y ago

For people in 2021 still wondering about that: ／祥＼寶□符＼元／祥符 xiáng fú (auspicious sign) referring to an era during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song and 元寶 yuán bǎo being a common way to mark coins (寶 bǎo meaning treasure)

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
blackrock 6y ago
Whoah. Song Dynasty China was the best. At least before the Mongols invaded and turned everything to shit. Song Dynasty might have been ancient China’s best chance to kickstart the industrial revolution in China. After the Mongol wars, the Mongols claimed the throne for ~100 years. Then, the Ming retook power. But, something was lost. And China was never the same again. And the rest is history.
namelosw 6y ago
Also 元(yuán) is exactly 'Chinese Yuan' you hear about today.
- yorwba 6y ago
  ... except the name of the modern currency is derived from 圓 yuán, meaning "circle", and 元 is only used as a simplified version because they're homophones in Standard Mandarin. According to Zhengzhang Shangfang's reconstruction, their Middle Chinese pronunciations were /ŋʉɐn/ 元 and /ɦˠiuᴇn/ 圓 respectively.

Ichthypresbyter 6y ago

There is a surviving coin minted for the 8th century King Offa of Mercia (in what is now central England) with the Shahadah on it in badly-spelled Arabic, even though Mercia had been Christian for over a century when the coin was minted. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/gold-dinar-of-king-offa# https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/gold-dinar-of-king-offa# (The coin is a copy of an Abbasid dinar from 773-4 CE, with "OFFA REX" added to it. It's the oldest known gold coin from post-Roman Britain.)