China - Early Imperial. FORMER SHU: Guang Tian, 918, AE cash (3.73g), H-15.38, attractive patina, VF. Issue of Wang Jian, the founding emperor of Former Shu, one of the ten kingdoms of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He started his career as an army officer under the Tang dynasty eunuch generals Yang Fuguang and Tian Lingzi, eventually seizing control of the modern Sichuan and Chongqing region, founding his state after Tangs destruction.
