Ancient Chinese Coinage

Ancient Chinese coinage includes some of the earliest known coins. These coins, used as early as the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE), took the form of imitations of the cowrie shells that were used in ceremonial exchanges. The same period also saw the introduction of the first metal coins; however, they were not initially round, instead being either knife shaped or spade shaped. Round metal coins with a round, and then later square hole in the center were first introduced around 350 BCE. The beginning of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), the first dynasty to unify China, saw the introduction of a standardised coinage for the whole Empire. Subsequent dynasties produced variations on these round coins throughout the imperial period. At first the distribution of the coinage was limited to use around the capital city district, but by the beginning of the Han dynasty, coins were widely used for such things as paying taxes, salaries and fines.

Ancient Chinese coins are markedly different from their European counterparts. Chinese coins were manufactured by being cast in molds, whereas European coins were typically cut and hammered or, in later times, milled. Chinese coins were usually made from mixtures of metals such copper, tin and lead, from bronze, brass or iron: precious metals like gold and silver were uncommonly used. The ratios and purity of the coin metals varied considerably. Most Chinese coins were produced with a square hole in the middle. This was used to allow collections of coins to be threaded on a square rod so that the rough edges could be filed smooth, and then threaded on strings for ease of handling.

Official coin production was not always centralised, but could be spread over many mint locations throughout the country. Aside from officially produced coins, private coining was common during many stages of history. Various steps were taken over time to try to combat the private coining and limit its effects and making it illegal. At other times private coining was tolerated. The coins varied in value throughout the history.

Some coins were produced in very large numbers – during the Western Han, an average of 220 million coins a year were produced. Other coins were of limited circulation and are today extremely rare – only six examples of '' Da Quan Wu Qian'' from the Eastern Wu dynasty (222–280) are known to exist. Occasionally, large hoards of coins have been uncovered. For example, a hoard was discovered in Jiangsu containing 4,000 ''Tai Qing Feng Le'' coins and at Zhangpu in Shaanxi, a sealed jar containing 1,000 ''Ban Liang'' coins of various weights and sizes, was discovered.

Pre-Imperial (770–220 BCE)

The earliest coinage of China was described by Sima Qian, the great historian of c. 100 BCE:

With the opening of exchange between farmers, artisans, and merchants, there came into use money of tortoise shells, cowrie shells, gold, coins (), knives (), spades (). This has been so from remote antiquity.

While nothing is known about the use of tortoise shells as money, gold and cowries (either real shells or replicas) were used to the south of the Yellow River. Although there is no doubt that the well-known spade and knife money were used as coins, it has not been demonstrated that other items often offered by dealers as coins such as fish, halberds, and metal chimes were also used as coins. They are not found in coin hoards, and the probability is that all these are in fact funerary items. Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest use of spade and knife money was in the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE). As in ancient Greece, socio-economic conditions at the time were favourable to the adoption of coinage.

Cowries

Inscriptions and archaeological evidence shows that cowrie shells were regarded as important objects of value in the Shang dynasty (c. 1766 – 1154 BC). In the Zhou period, they are frequently referred to as gifts or rewards from kings and nobles to their subjects. Later imitations in bone, stone or bronze were probably used as money in some instances. Some think the first Chinese metallic coins were bronze imitations of cowrie shells found in a tomb near Anyang dating from around 900 BC, but these items lack inscriptions.

Similar bronze pieces with inscriptions, known as '' Ant Nose Money'' () or '' Ghost Face Money'' () were definitely used as money. They have been found in areas to the south of the Yellow River corresponding to the State of Chu in the Warring States period. One hoard was of some 16,000 pieces. Their weight is very variable, and their alloy often contains a high proportion of lead. The name Ant ndNose refers to the appearance of the inscriptions, and has nothing to do with keeping ants out of the noses of corpses.

Gold

The only minted gold coinage of this period known was '' Chu gold block money'' (), which consists of sheets of gold 3–5 mm thick, of various sizes, with inscriptions consisting of square or round stamps where there are one or two characters. They have been unearthed in various locations south of the Yellow River indicating that they were products of the State of Chu. One of the characters in their inscription is often a monetary unit or weight which is normally read as ''yuan'' (). Pieces are of a very variable size and thickness, and the stamps appear to be a device to validate the whole block, rather than a guide to enable it to be broken up into unit pieces. Some specimens have been reported in copper, lead, or clay. It is probable that these were funeral money, not circulating coinage, as they are found in tombs, but the gold coins are not.

Jade pieces

It has been suggested that pieces of jade were a form of money in the Shang dynasty.

Money brand

''Metal money brands'' () were rarely used in the state of Chu. They were used again in the Song dynasty.“临安府行用”钱牌

Spade money

Hollow handled spade money

''Hollow handled spades'' () are a link between weeding tools used for barter and stylised objects used as money. They are clearly too flimsy for use, but retain the hollow socket by which a genuine tool could be attached to a handle. This socket is rectangular in cross-section, and still retains the clay from the casting process. In the socket the hole by which the tool was fixed to its handle is also reproduced.
* Prototype spade money: This type of spade money is similar in shape and size to the original agricultural implements. While some are perhaps robust enough to be used in the fields, others are much lighter and bear an inscription, probably the name of the city which issued it. Some of these objects have been found in Shang and Western Zhou tombs, so they date from c. 1200–800 BC. Inscribed specimens appear to date from c. 700 BC.
* Square shoulder spades: Square shoulder spade coins have square shoulders, a straight or slightly curving foot, and three parallel lines on the obverse and reverse. They are found in quantities of up to several hundreds in the area corresponding to the Royal Domain of Zhou (south Hebei and north Henan). Archaeological evidence dates them to the early Spring and Autumn period, around 650 BC onwards. The inscriptions on these coins usually consist of one character, which can be a number, a cyclical character, a place name, or the name of a clan. The possibility that some inscriptions are the names of merchants has not been entertained. The crude writing is that of the artisans who made the coins, not the more careful script of the scholars who wrote the votive inscriptions on bronzes. The style of writing is consistent with that of the middle Zhou period. Over 200 inscriptions are known; many have not been fully deciphered. The characters can be found on the left or the right of the central line and are sometimes inverted or retrograde. The alloy of these coins is typically 80% copper, 15% lead, and 5% tin. They are found in hoards of hundreds, rather than thousands, sometimes tied together in bundles. Although there is no mention in the literature of their purchasing power, it is clear that they were not small change.
* Sloping shoulder spades: Sloping shoulder spades usually have a sloping shoulder, with the two outside lines on the obverse and reverse at an angle. The central line is often missing. This type is generally smaller than the prototype or square shoulder spades. Their inscriptions are clearer, and usually consist of two characters. They are associated with the Kingdom of Zhou and the Henan area. Their smaller size indicates that they are later in date than the square shoulder spades.
* Pointed shoulder spades: This type of spade has pointed shoulders and feet, and a long hollow handle. There are three parallel lines on the obverse and reverse, and occasionally inscriptions. They are found in northeastern Henan and in Shanxi, territory of the Duchy of Jin, later to become Zhao. They are held to be somewhat later in date than the square shouldered spades. Their shape seems to be designed for ease of tying together in bundles, rather than developed from any particular agricultural instrument.

Flat-handled spade money

These have lost the hollow handle of the early spades. They nearly all have distinct legs, suggesting that their pattern was influenced by the pointed shoulder hollow handled spades, but had been further stylized for easy handling. They are generally smaller, and sometimes have denominations specified in their inscriptions as well as place names. This, together with such little evidence as can be gleaned from the dates of the establishment of some of the mint towns, show that they were a later development. Archaeological evidence dates them to the Warring States period (475–221 BC). Arched foot spades have an alloy consisting of about 80% copper; for other types the copper content varies between 40% and 70%.
* Arched foot spades: This type has an arched crutch, often like an inverted U. The shoulders can be rounded or angular. Denominations of half, one, or two ''jin'' are normally specified. They are associated with the State of Liang (also known as Wei) which flourished between 425 and 344 BCE, and the State of Han (403–230 BCE).
* Special spades of Liang: Similar in shape to the arched foot spades. Their inscriptions have been the subject of much debate. All are now agreed that these coins were issued by the State of Liang, and the inscriptions indicate a relationship between the ''jin'' weight of the coins, and the ''lie'', another unit of weight or money.
* Pointed foot spades: This type has pointed feet, and a square crutch; the shoulders can be pointing upwards or straight. They are a clear descendant of the pointed shoulder hollow handled spade. The weight and size of the larger specimens is compatible with the one ''jin'' unit of the arched foot flat handled spades; smaller specimens sometimes specify the unit as one ''jin'' or more often as a half ''jin'', but frequently do not specify a unit. This seems to imply that the half ''jin'' unit became the norm. They are associated with the State of Zhao, and their find spots are usually in Shanxi or Hebei provinces. They frequently have numerals on their reverses. The two character mint names mean that the cities that cast these coins can be identified with more certainty than those of earlier series.
* Square foot spades: This type has square feet, a square crutch, and a central line on the obverse. The reverses are normally only three lines, apart from on spades produced by some mints in the state of Zhao that also produced pointed foot spades. These have numerals on the reverse. The mints that produced square foot spades are more numerous than those that produced the pointed foot spades. Their weights are compatible with the half ''jin'' denomination. They are associated with the states of Han, Zhao, Liang, Zhou, and Yan. Their find spots include the provinces of Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Zhejiang. The type is no doubt contemporary with the pointed foot spades; some mints issued both types, and the two are found together in hoards.
* Sharp-cornered spades: These form a distinct sub-series of the square foot spades. They differ slightly from the normal type as they have small triangular projections on the handle. The inscriptions of the three larger types include the characters ''jin'' () and ''nie'' (). While ''nie'' was the name of a river in Henan, the character cannot be readily construed as part of a place name, as it is found in conjunction with other place names such as Lu Shi and Yu. According to the Fang Yan (an ancient book on dialects), ''nie'' meant the same as ''hua'' (), money or coin. Thus the characters ''jin nie'' mean "metal coin". The weights of the larger coins seem slightly higher than the 14 grams of the ''jin'' standard. Their find spots correspond with the states of Liang and Han.
* ''Dang Jin'' spades: These constitute another sub-group whose inscriptions suggest equivalence between the units of two trading areas. Both the small and large coins have a character jin () in their inscription. This is normally taken as being the same as the ''jin'' unit found on other flat handled spade coins. However, the 28 gram weight of these coins suggests that their unit was twice the 14 grams of the flat handled spade ''jin'', so perhaps it was a local unit of the area. The smaller coin is often found as two joined together at the feet. This is how they were cast, but it is not clear if they were intended to circulate like this. Their weight is between 7 and 8 grams, roughly a quarter of the larger coins, so the inscription indicating that four were equivalent to a jin is logical. Their obverse inscriptions are a matter of some debate. Taking a consensus, the most logical reading is: ity ofPei coin equivalent to a ''jin'' ().
* Round foot spades: Round handle, round shoulders, and round feet. A rare type, this type is represented by the coins of five cities in present-day Shanxi, between the Fen and Yellow River. There are two sizes, the equivalent of the one ''jin'' and half ''jin'' denominations. They have various numerals on their reverses. One school of thought ascribes them to the States of Qin and Zhao at the end of the Warring States period; another to the State of Zhongshan during the 4th century BC.
* Three hole spades: Holes in the handle and feet. Round handle, round shoulders, and round feet. Another rare type. Two sizes are found. The large size has the inscription ''liang'' () on the reverse; the smaller ''shi'er zhu'' () (12 zhu). As the ''liang'' unit of weight was divided into 24 ''zhu'', clearly the two sizes represent denominations of a "one" and of a "half". They also have series numbers on the handle on the reverse. Like the round foot spades, it is not definitely established which State issued them. Their find spots are in eastern Shanxi and Hebei. The mint names are cities that were occupied by both Zhongshan and Zhao.

Knife money

Knife money is much the same shape as the actual knives in use during the Zhou period. They appear to have evolved in parallel with the spade money in the north-east of China.
* Qi knives: These large knives are attributed to the State of Qi, and are found in the Shandong area. They do not appear to have circulated much outside of this area. Although there has been considerable controversy concerning the date of their issue, archaeology shows them to be products of the Warring States period. They are known as Three Character Knives, Four Character Knives and so on, according to the number of characters in their inscriptions. Some consider the three horizontal lines and the mark below on some reverses are part of the inscription. The inscription refers to the establishment of the State of Qi. This could have been in 1122 BC, 894 BC, 685 BC, or 386 BC, depending on how one interprets the early histories. The two later dates are the most likely for the introduction of these coins. The alloy of the Three Character Knives contains around 54% copper, 38% lead, and 8% tin. The Four and Five Character Knives contain about 70% copper.
* Needle tip knives: This type of knife money is distinguished by their long, pointed tip. They were unknown until 1932, when a hoard was unearthed at Chengde in Hebei province; later hoards have also been found in this area. It has been suggested that such knives were produced for the trade between the Chinese and the Xiongnu who occupied this northern area at the time. It could be that this type was merely a local variation of the Pointed Tip knives, or that it was the original type that became modified as it was inconvenient to use. Some fifty inscriptions have been recorded, which consist of numbers, cyclical characters, and other characters, many of which have not been deciphered.
* Pointed tip knives: The end of the blade is curved but lacks the long pointed tip of the needle tip knives. The find spots of this type of knife money in the north-east of China associate it with the State of Yan. In recent years, hoards of up to 2,000 of these knives have been made, sometimes tied together in bundles of 25, 50, or 100. Over 160 different inscriptions have been recorded. Some inscriptions represent numbers or cyclical characters, but many have not been deciphered. Unlike the hollow handle spade money, the characters have not been generally associated with known places names. Their sizes and weights (11 to 16 grams) are very variable, leading to various sub-types being proposed by various authorities.
* Ming knives: Ming knives are generally smaller than pointed tip knives, and their tips are approximately straight. This type of knife money takes its name from the character on the obverse, which has traditionally been read as ''ming'' (). Other proposals have been ''yi'' (), ''ju'' (), ''ming'' (), and ''zhao'' (). A mint for Ming knives was unearthed at Xiadu, to the south west of Peking. This was the site of Yi, capital of the State of Yan from 360 BC, so the reading of ''yi'' has found favour recently. Moulds have also been discovered in Shandong. These coins themselves have been found, often in great quantities, in the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Manchuria, and even as far afield as Korea and Japan. They are found together with pointed and square foot spade money.

Two different shapes of Ming knife are found. The first, presumably the earlier, is curved like the pointed tip knives. The second has a straight blade and often a pronounced angled bend in the middle. This shape is known as 磬 ''qing'', a chime stone. Their alloy contains around 40% copper; they weigh around 16 grams.

A wide range of characters is found on the reverses of Ming knives. Some are single characters or numerals, similar to those found on the pointed tip knives. Two large groups have inscriptions that begin with the characters ''you'' () or ''zuo'' (), followed by numerals or other characters. ''You'' has the subsidiary meaning of junior or west; ''zuo'' can also mean senior or east. (The excavations at Xiadu revealed in the inner city a ''zuo gong'' left-hand palace, and a ''you gong'' right-hand palace.) The similarities between the other characters in these two groups show that they were determined by the same system. A smaller group has inscriptions beginning with ''wai'' (), but the other characters do not have much in common with the ''you'' and ''zuo'' groups. A fourth group has inscriptions beginning with an unclear character, and other characters similar to those found in the ''you'' and ''zuo'' groups. By analogy with the ''wai'', this unclear character has been read as ''nei'' () or ''zhong'' ().
* State of Qi Ming knives (Boshan knives): Their general appearance is similar to the Ming knives. The ''ming'' character is large and angular. They have extensive reverse inscriptions. A hoard of these knives was unearthed in the Jiaqing period (1796–1820) in Boshan in eastern Shandong. Later finds have been made in the same area. This area was part of the state of Qi; and their legends also refer to Qi. Between 284 and 279 BC, the State of Yan occupied most of the territory of Qi, and it is generally accepted that these coins come from this time. Otherwise, their reverse inscriptions, which appear to refer to place names, have not been satisfactorily deciphered. One reading gives the first character as ''Ju'' () for Ju city.
* Straight knives: These are smaller knives, and their blades are not curved or only slightly curved. They were issued by a few places in the state of Zhao. This category includes some other smaller knives of various shapes. They are found in hoards with Ming knives.

Early round coins

The round coin, the precursor of the familiar cash coin, circulated in both the spade and knife money areas in the Zhou period, from around 350 BC. Apart from two small and presumably late coins from the State of Qin, coins from the spade money area have a round hole and refer to the ''jin'' and ''liang'' units. Those from the knife money area have a square hole and are denominated in ''hua''.

Although for discussion purposes the Zhou coins are divided up into categories of knives, spades, and round coins, it is apparent from archaeological finds that most of the various kinds circulated together. A hoard found in 1981, near Hebi in north Henan province, consisted of: 3,537 Gong spades, 3 Anyi arched foot spades, 8 Liang ''Dang Lie'' spades, 18 Liang square foot spades and 1,180 Yuan round coins, all contained in three clay jars. Another example is a find made in Liaoning province in 1984, which consisted of 2,280 Yi Hua round coins, 14 spade coins, and 120 Ming knives. In 1960 in Shandong, 2 Yi Hua round coins were found with 600 Qi round coins and 59 Qi knives. At Luoyang a find was made in 1976 of 116 flat handled spades of various types (Xiangyuan, Lin, Nie, Pingyang, Yu, Anyang, and Gong), 46 Anzang round coins, 1 yuan round coin, and small/sloping shoulder spades from Sanchuan, Wu, Anzang, Dong Zhou, Feng, and Anzhou.

Ban Liang coins

The Ban Liang coins take their name from their two character inscription ''Ban Liang ''(), which means "half a '' liang''". The ''liang'' refers to the weight unit of tael (also known as the "Chinese ounce"), which consisted of 24 ''zhu ''() and was the equivalent of about . Thus the original Ban Liang weighed the equivalent of 12 ''zhu'' — ; however, it kept this inscription even when its weight was later reduced. This means that Ban Liangs are found in a great variety of sizes and calligraphic styles, all with the same inscription, which are difficult to classify and to date exactly, especially those of unofficial or local manufacture.

These coins were traditionally associated with Qin Shi Huang Di, the first Chinese Emperor, who united China in 221 BC. The History of Han says: "When Qin united the world, it made two sorts of currency: that of yellow gold, which was called ''yi'' and was the currency of the higher class; and that of bronze, which was similar in quality to the coins of Zhou, but bore an inscription saying Half Ounce, and was equal in weight to its inscription."

Archaeological evidence now shows that the Ban Liang was first issued in the Warring States period by the State of Qin, possibly as early as 378 BC. A remarkable find was some bamboo tablets amongst which were found regulations (drawn up before 242 BC) concerning metal and cloth money. A thousand coins, good and bad mixed, were to be placed in ''pen'' (baskets or jars) and sealed with the Seal of the Director. At Zhangpu in Shaanxi, just such a sealed jar, containing 1,000 Ban Liang of various weights and sizes, was discovered. 7 Ban Liang were found in a tomb datable to 306 BC.
At the beginning of the Western Han dynasty, c. 200 BC, the people were allowed to cast small light coins known as ''yu jia'' (), "elm seed" coins, as the heavy Qin coins were inconvenient. In 186 BC, the official coin weight was reduced to 8 ''zhu'', and in 182 BC, a ''wu fen'' () (5 parts) coin was issued – this is taken to be 5 parts of a Ban Liang, i.e. 2.4 ''zhu''. In 175 BC, the weight was set at 4 ''zhu''. Private minting was permitted again, but with strict regulation of the weight and alloy. In 119 BC, the Ban Liang was replaced by the San Zhu, and then the Wu Zhu coin.

Western Han and the ''Wu Zhu'' coins

By this time, a full monetary economy had developed. Taxes, salaries, and fines were all paid in coins. An average of 220 million coins a year were produced. According to the Book of Han, the Western Han was a wealthy period:

The granaries in the cities and the countryside were full and the government treasuries were running over with wealth. In the capital the strings of cash had been stacked up by the hundreds of millions until the cords that bound them had rotted away and they could no longer be counted.

On average, millet cost 75 cash and polished rice 140 cash a hectolitre, a horse 4,400–4,500 cash. A labourer could be hired for 150 cash a month; a merchant could earn 2,000 cash a month.
Apart from the Ban Liang coins described previously, there were two other coins of the Western Han whose inscription denoted their weight:

* The San Zhu () coin was issued either between 140 and 136 BC, or between 119 and 118 BC. The records are ambiguous, but the later date is generally preferred.
* The Wu Zhu () was first issued in 118 BC, this inscription was used on coins of many regimes over the next 700 years. Sometimes Wu Zhus can be dated specifically from dated moulds that have been discovered, or from their find spots, but the majority cannot. Those of the Western Han dynasty have a square top to the right hand component of ''zhu''; on later coins, this is rounded. Only a few of the varieties that have been described by numismatists are included here.
* Jun Guo Wu Zhu () (118–115 BC) is a large and heavy coin, with the edges not filed. Sometimes has a rimless reverse. Taken to be the earliest Wu Zhu. According to the History of Han, in 118 BC the Commanderies (''Jun'') and Principalities (''Guo'') were ordered to cast 5 ''zhu'' coins with a circular rim so that it would be impossible to clip them to glean a bit of copper.
* Chi Ze Wu Zhu () (115–113 BC) is a lighter coin than the above, with filed edges. The Han records state that in 115 BC the mints in the capital were requested to cast ''Chi Ze'' coins, with one being worth five local coins. Only these were to circulate. ''Chi Ze'' means Red (or Shining) Edge, referring to the red copper showing when the edges were filed smooth. Some examples of this coin were found from the tomb of Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan, who died in 113 BC.
* Shang Lin San Guan Wu Zhu () (From 113 BC) refers to the Three Offices of Shang Lin Park which were the Office for Coinage, the Office for Sorting Copper, and the Office of Price Equalisation. Minting was now confined to the central authorities. These coins usually have a raised rim on the top of the hole on the obverse. Their quality was so high that forgery became unprofitable except to true artisans, great villains, or thieves. All earlier coins were to be melted down and the copper taken to Shang Lin.
* Wu Zhu Coins (AD 25). Even after the end of the Wang Mang regime (see below), the coinage system remained in disarray. Cloth, silk and grain were used as money along with coins. However, cash was the normal measure of wealth and was used in large quantities. When Yang Ping (92–195) was in economic difficulties, he was offered a gift of one million cash. Wu Zhu coins continued to be issued, along with other coins, until the end of the sixth century. Some coins can be attributed to specific reigns or events; many can not.
* The Iron Wu Zhu, resembling the W. Han coin, is attributed to Gongsun Shu, who rebelled in Sichuan in AD 25, and issued iron coins, two being equal to one ''Jian Wu Wu Zhu''(). Head of the ''zhu'' component rounded. Typical of Eastern Han Wu Zhus.

: In AD 30, a ditty was sung by the youths of Sichuan: "The yellow bull! the white belly! Let Wu Zhu coins return". This ridiculed the tokens of Wang Mang and the iron coins of Gongsun Shu, which were withdrawn by the Eastern Han Emperor Guangwu in the 16th year of Jian Wu (AD 40). The Emperor was advised that the foundation of the wealth of a country depends on a good political economy, which was found in the good old Wu Zhu coinage, and so reissued the Wu Zhu coins.

* The Si Chu Wu Zhu () has four lines on reverse radiating from the corners of the hole. It is attributed to the Eastern Han Emperor Ling, AD 186. The four lines are said to represent wealth flowing from a ruined city—an omen of the overthrow of the Han dynasty.
* Shu Wu Zhu () coins have the word ''Chuan'' () on the obverse, or the numbers 1–32 on the reverse, in incuse characters. They are attributed to the Shu Han