30 Cash - Wang Mang (Second reform)

The 30 Cash coin was issued in 9 AD by Wang Mang, the founder of the short-lived Xin Dynasty. Following his usurpation of the Han throne, Wang Mang enacted a series of drastic monetary reforms designed to centralize state control and stabilize the economy. These coins, often referred to as 'knife money' due to their distinctive spade-like handle and blade shape, were intended to replace the traditional round Ban Liang and Wu Zhu coins in a bid to reclaim the prestige of the ancient Zhou Dynasty.

The design of the 30 Cash coin reflects the meticulous, almost ideological aesthetic favoured by Wang Mang’s administration. The inscription, written in the stylized 'seal script' (zhuanshu) of the era, displays a level of calligraphic precision that set these coins apart from the cruder utilitarian currency of the preceding period. While the government enforced these designs to signal a new era of prosperity, the coins were ultimately unpopular and prone to counterfeiting, leading to their swift withdrawal shortly after the collapse of the Xin Dynasty.