![]() Calligraphy style should be viewed as somewhat unreliable as a technique for dating the coins, and not used to override other evidence. The same character can appear on two related issues in almost unrelated (to western eyes) forms, and in many cases these archaic characters cannot be translated with absolute certainty. This is is changing and one day we will be able to define the dates of the various types more closely.Ĭalligraphy forms evolved rapidly during the Zhou period, but many coins bear archaic calligraphy forms long out of fashion by the time the coins were cast. But as yet there have not been enough documented excavations containing these types of coins, which can be accurately dated so as to help define the dates of the coins (usually the coins date the excavation). It provides significant new information on where the coins are found, and thus presumed to have been minted. Modern archeology is in its infancy in China, but rapidly improving. Until recently EARLY CHINESE COINAGE by WANG YU-CH'UAN (ANS Numismatic notes & Monographs #122, 1951, republished by Durst in 1980) was probably the most useful, but CAST CHINESE COINS by David Hartill (Trafford Publishing, 2005) was far surpassed it and we highly recommend it to anyone that wants far more detail on this series than we intend to provide on this website. It is likely no one researcher has the full truth, but reading them is still useful. Many books and articles about ancient Chinese coins have been published, but there is little agreement between them. Some records have survived are inscriptions on bronze ritual vessels indicating how they were paid for thus giving glimpses into the monetary system of the time, but in most cases the readings are subject to several interpretations with their true meanings uncertain. 221 BC) to erase earlier history which included earlier writings. Official ancient records are of little help in this series, as few survived the Ch'in Dynasty's attempt (ca. The third it must have an understood denomination so that it need not be weighed at every transaction, otherwise it is only a bullion item. Secondly, it must contain an intrinsic value bearing some relationship to the circulating value, and while that intrinsic value can be less than the circulating value if it falls too far below the item becomes a token rather than a coin. ![]() ![]() First, it must bear the mark of the issuing authority. We will be happy to hear from anyone who wishes to express their opinions on this subject, or can provide us with information that we are not aware of.Ī true coin, as compared to a primitive money, must meet three criteria. Some of our theories will almost certainly eventually be proven wrong and will have to be revised (some already have been), and it is our hope to keep moving forward towards a genuine understanding of this complex series. This site puts forward our observations and ideas that have evolved over time from many different sources, combining them with ideas put forward by other numismatists. The coinage of early China is not well understood, although things have improved signficantly in recent years. Images represent the types and may be larger or smaller than the actual coins. This is a reference guide to the cast coins of China from the Zhou Dynasty, including knife and spade coins, not a listing of coins offered for sale (although a listing of examples we currently have available can be viewed on our : our vcoins store. ![]()
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