5000 Cash - Wang Mang (First reform)

Issued in 7 CE by the usurper emperor Wang Mang, who founded the short-lived Xin dynasty, these pieces were part of an ambitious and ultimately disastrous series of currency reforms. Wang Mang sought to replace the traditional circular ban liang and wu zhu coins with elaborate, spade-shaped coinage that harked back to the Warring States period, believing these designs would restore ancient Confucian economic ideals and consolidate his political legitimacy.

The 5000 cash piece, known as the 'Da Bu Heng Qian,' was struck in bronze and featured sophisticated calligraphy that remains highly regarded by numismatists for its aesthetic grace. Despite the beauty of the design, the reforms were deeply unpopular and impractical, leading to severe economic instability. The coins were abruptly demonetized following the collapse of Wang Mang’s regime in 23 CE, making surviving specimens significant historical witnesses to one of the most eccentric financial experiments in Chinese history.