CHINA - Fake Song Dynasty!

Xing Zhao Zhong Bao, 3 wen - Denomination: 3 wen - Metal: AE From ZENO: #1: Hua Huangpu, 3-vol edition, page 804. However, presented coin looks bad - calligraphy is wrong, and metal and patina color are similar to the modern production fakes. #2: This is one of three coins in this series. There is a similar piece with "Tang Wu" (value 5) on the reverse, and there is a smaller coin with the character "Pao" abbreviated on the obverse and with the cyclical date "Jen Shen" on the reverse. As far as I can determine, the small coin was first published in 1877 in the supplement to Ku Ch'uan Hui by Li Tso-hsien. The other two coins were first published in the 1920's or 1930's - making them a little suspicious. Ting Fu-pao's Encyclopedia (1938) shows the small dated coin, but quotes Cheng Chia-hsiang who mentions the other two coins. Another Value 3 is shown in Ku Ch'ien Hsin Tien (Guqian Xindian) [English title: New Illustrative Plates of Chinese Ancient Coins] by Chu Huo (Zhu Huo). published in 1991 and in Hua Kuang-p'u (Hua Guangpu) catalog of old Chinese coins (I have the 1999 edition). All of these Value 3 illustrations are of the same calligraphy, which is entirely different from the calligraphy of the coin shown here. The different references to these coins do not agree on the dating, attribution or even the reading of the inscription. Some read it Hsing Chao Chung Pao (Xingzhao Zhongbao) because this looks like a coin inscription -- even though this reading starts on the left, something never seen on Chinese coins. But most read it Chao Pao Chung Hsing, and this is how it is listed in Arthur Coole's index of cash coin inscriptions in Volume 1 of his Encyclopedia of Chinese Coins. Li Tso-hsien mentions a Chung Hsing reign title, but this was used in Annam from 1285 to 1293, and would require starting on the right and reading crosswise, then top to bottom. Most works date the coins to the end of the Sung dynasty, issued by loyalist generals. Zhu Huo, however, lists these coins under the Yuan dynasty and apparently believes they were made in the 1300's. The cyclical date on the small coin could be 1272 AD - near the end of the Sung dynasty - or 1332 during the Yuan dynasty. It could also be 1152 or 1212, but this seems less likely. What does the inscription mean? The top character, Chao, is the family name of the Sung emperors. Hsing means to raise up. I think the intention of the inscription is: "raise up (or restore) the Chao family (of emperors)". Grammatically it should read "Hsing Chao", but in printed works, any reference to the emperor must begin one line above the rest of the text, so the family name was put at the top. The only way I can think of using the other two characters is "chung pao", meaning simply "heavy currency". Pao could be an adjective for Chao ("precious Chao"), but then how does the "chung" fit in the inscription? So I think the correct reading is "Hsing Chao Chung Pao" or "Chao Hsing Chung Pao".