CHINA - Introduction and Chou Dynasty
 Controversy has raged for centuries as to whether it is China which is the cradle
of currency or Lydia in Asian Turkey.  Late archaeological work seems to have settled
the argument in favor of China.  There seems to be little doubt that metal objects of
standard shape and size were made strictly as trade tokens at least by 900 BC, possibly as
early as 1100 BC.
 The collecting of Chinese coins is also thousands of years old, as is the writing of
books about coins.  Administrative records have been kept for over 3000 years.  At least
2000 years of these records are substantially intact.  Hundreds of books have been written
on numismatic subjects.  Most of this literature is, of course, in Chinese.  Very little has
been translated.  Dozens of scholars could spend their entire lives rendering the available
Chinese numismatic corpus into English.
 The latter day Golden Age for non-Chinese collectors of Chinese coins was in the
late '70s and early '80s.  Relaxed borders and official corruption coincided with high
bullion values and general popularity of the hobby to produce an amazing flood of
material out of China.  Items formerly unknown appeared.  Rare ancient coins became
common.  Common items became extraordinarily cheap.
 This situation has moderated over the last decade.  Rare items are tending to grow
rare again.  Wholesale prices are up, bulk quality is down.  Still, there are no other BC
coins which can be had in nice shape for under a dollar, or thousand year old coins by the
thousand for 25 cents a piece.
GENERAL MARKET
 Here are some basic facts.  There are two major sources of Chinese coins.  There
is China of course.  From China come all the ancient coins, say 400 AD and earlier.  Also
all the larger multiple cash coins, the amulets, the off-metal cash, most of the fakes, and
almost all the silver and (rare) gold coins, sycee, chopped coins, etc.  Everything from
China has been smuggled out.  Most of it ends up in Hong Kong and Singapore, with a
bit going to Thailand.
The other source is Indonesia.  China exported cash to the Islands to pay for spices from
the time of the Ming dynasty in the 15th century until the middle of the twentieth.
Probably billions of cash were exported.  Millions have been fed into the collector and
jewelry markets over the last fifteen years.  I went through 12,000 myself last year.
There are still more out there.  These coins are smuggled out of Indonesia.  Almost all
end up in Singapore.
 Virtually all Chinese coin lots you see have been cherry picked.  All the
Indonesian cash have been sorted for grade and scarcity.  The sorters don't catch
everything, just almost everything.  There are two main types of Indonesian bulk:
"Northern Sung" and "Ch'ing".  Northern Sung actually consists of Tang, Ming, and small
Ch'ing dynasty coins, and Sung of course.  The majority are copper rather than brass.
Most have been buried in the earth.  Lately these have been coming tied up in strings of
200, forty coins long and 5 deep.  This way you can't see three fifths of the coins.
Usually the quality is "acceptable," but I did get a fraudulent batch once where the inside
pieces were just trash.  Guy apologized, but I had to eat the loss.  Didn't happen again
though.
Indonesian Ch'ing coins divide into early and late subtypes.  The earliest are big, almost
the size of a half dollar sometimes, and are usually available by the hundred.  These are
the common Shun Chih, K'ang Hsi, and Yung Cheng varieties of 1644-1735.  The latest
run from Ch'ien Lung through Tao Kuang (1736-1850).  They always take out the Hsien
Feng, T'ung Chih, and Kuang Hs coins, except of course for machine-made Kwangtung
Y190.  The later Ch'ing coins typically come in bags of 5000.
The silver coins have obeyed normal market rules since they started coming out.  The
Yunnan 1949 20 cents with the building on it used to be considered a scarce to rarish coin.
Perhaps 10,000 or more came out in 1981 I believe, which of course got them to the level
they're at now.  The silver hemorrhage has pretty much stopped since 1986 or so.  Bullion
prices made it not worth it.  I don't think anybody believes the supply is depleted.  My
personal magic guess is that less than 20% overall of the hoarded silver left China in that
period.  Wholesale stocks of silver dragon coins are generally depleted at this time, while
numerous Republican issues remain in plentiful oversupply.
TRANSLATION
Before the advent of the People's Republic in 1949 there was no official translation
system from Chinese into our alphabet, which they call "Roman."  The most commonly
used among English and American scholars (including numismatists) was the
Wade-Giles system.  Craig, Yeoman, Schj”th, and Coole used Wade-Giles.  The People's
Republic linguists put together a different system they call Pinyin.  It is a real
improvement on Wade-Giles and is now the world standard for transliteration.  Everyone
is changing over, even us slowpoke numismatists.  However, the numismatic standard
references in European languages all use the Wade-Giles romanization, and I plan to use
as well for most of this essay.
REFERENCES
In my work I find I use the SCWC for 99% of the machine struck coins.  There's also The
Minted 10-Cash Coins of China by Woodward, and The Currencies of China by Kann.
These two are occasionally invaluable if you collect varieties.  For cast cash of
1736-1911 I also use SCWC.  The listing is not quite complete, again, 99%.
For cast coins before 1736 I use The Currencies of China by Frederick Schj”th, again
99% of the time.  This is not because it's "the best."  It is fairly complete for the main
series (round coins with square holes), but quite lacking in Tatar and later Ch'ing coins
among others.  There are a few fakes unnoticed, a few misattributions, the chronology of
the BC coinage has lately been revised extensively (and, it would appear, definitively).
But there is no more complete reference available in English.  Two other books will form
the classical reference triumvirate for the series.  They are catalogs of Chinese coins
written in Chinese by Ting Fu Pao and Orlando Tsai.  Dr. Ting's book has been reissued
with a skeleton translation, indexes, charts, explanatory material, concordance with
Schj”th numbers, etc. by George Fisher under the title Fisher's Ding.  Mr. Fisher's work
has made this an excellent and useable reference for English speakers, greatly enhancing
it's compatibility with Schj”th's book.  It contains numerous illustrations of pieces not in
Sch”th, and these can now be identified by people who don't know Chinese.  Mr. Tsai's
book has not yet been translated.  Again there are a few pieces illustrated which do not
appear in either Ting or Schj”th.  The problem is open ended.  They keep on finding new
types.  Several large and impressive books have been issued by the People's Republic,
with color photos of new finds, but none of these are "reference grade."  Finally there is a
book in German, Die Lochenmnzen Chinas by Herbert Staak.  Self issued in 1988, it
puts together the three classics with modern information, gives the revised chronologies,
all the new discoveries, concordance with Schj”th, Ting, and Craig/KM, etc.  Where
Schj”th's numbers end at 1600 and Ting stops at 2700, Staak lists 3500+ pieces.  It could
be an able successor to "the three."  In the real world this hasn't happened yet.  Too many
Schj”th's around, not enough of this book.  Herr Staak really should reprint it.  Every
serious collector should try to get a copy.
"The Three" cover the major coin types of the early Chou dynasty.  That's the knives,
spades, "ant and nose" coins, etc.  The coverage in all three is somewhat superficial, and
rather dated.  A seven volume series by the Rev. Arthur Bradden Coole called
Encyclopedia of Chinese Coins deals in great detail with these coins, with many
thousands of pieces illustrated by rubbings.  Mr. Coole was perhaps overzealous in
illustrating every calligraphy variety he came across, but while one will frequently find
ancients which are not in "the Three" they are almost always in Coole.  Though Rev.
Coole is generally to me fairly persuasive in his translations and attributions, in Chinese
numismatics there will always be a chorus of nay-sayers to dispute any assertion.
SOME SYSTEMATIC ASPECTS
The Chinese have a main line of accepted Emperors from the "Yellow Emperor."  His
years of reign are 2698-2598 BC and he is generally considered "semi-legendary."  Every
year thereafter is accounted for in the annals. Either there is a Dynasty and an Emperor or
there is an Interregnum.  Specific coin types are definitively assigned to specific
Emperors from roughly the beginning of the Common Era.
The Emperor's reign was given a slogan denoting the ethos of the period.  This is called
the "Year Title" or Nien Hao.  In America we do this too, viz. "New Deal," and "Great
Society."  At times the Emperor would change his slogan.  Our latest corollary would be
the metamorphosis of the "Thousand Points of Light" into the "New World Order."  The
Nien Hao makes up half of the inscription on most coins from about 500 AD.  The other
half of the inscription typically translates as "Good Money."
In addition to the Emperors, normal cash coins were made by rebels, usurpers, and rival
states such as the Tatar dynasts.  These bear Nien Haos different from the Imperial coins,
and are listed in the regular references.  There are also pieces which look like coins but
are not.  Called Ya Sheng in Chinese, and "amulets" in English, these are pieces made of
coin metal, sometimes by private parties and sometimes by the government, for various
social, official, and ceremonial reasons.  The smaller pieces circulated with the regular
issues.
Now that I've got the ground rules covered I can get on to the coins.
SHANG DYNASTY
The earliest dateable objects of recognizably Chinese culture are from the Shang
Dynasty, 1766-1122 BC.  The Shang Emperors liked to be buried with their entire
retinue, which custom was vitiated by the time of the Qin Emperor, fifteen hundred years
later into the famous "terra cotta army."  The most famous Shang artifacts are the
splendid cast bronze ritual vessels, excellent fakes of which are occasionally offered for
sale at fabulous prices.  Museums pay five and six figures for choice originals.  Far more
common are oracle bones.  These are small pieces of flat bone with some archaic writing
asking the question.  The answer came from heating the bone and observing how it
cracked.  I have actually held one of these in my hand, but it too was a museum piece.
The basic unit of account, and the foundation of the measuring system, is said to have
been  the millet seed.  The fact that the character pei for cowrie is one of the 214 Shang
era "radicals" from which all Chinese characters are formed is strong evidence that
cowries circulated in the Shang state, but metal was a rare commodity.
CHOU DYNASTY
The demise of the Shang was followed by the ascendancy to the Chou, 1122-221 BC.
While the Shang Emperors ruled over a relatively restricted region of north-central
China, the Chou Dynasty presided over an extensive feudal structure very similar to that
of eleventh century Europe.  There were old landed gentry, loyal servants duly ennobled,
free cities, etc. covering in aggregate quite a bit of territory.  The constituent political
units of Chou China possessed at various times greater or lesser degrees of independence,
occasionally fought each other, at other times were in various coalitions.  The political
power of the Imperial apparatus waned and waxed with the changing events of the day.
COWRIES AND IMITATIONS
Cowries were in general use in Chou times.  It is possible to buy cowries from Asian
dealers which are offered as Chou pieces.  These always look old, filled with dirt, partly
calcined.  Prices are usually in the $30-50.00 range.  Personally, I can't tell the difference
between 500 year old calcination and 3000 year old calcination, so I don't buy them.
In troubled times trade with the Maldive Islands from which the cowries came would be
disrupted, and imitations would be fashioned of bone, stone, clay, or other shells.  These
imitation cowries have been fairly available on the market for the last ten years or so.
Stone pieces have been most common, then bone, with clay being scarce and shell being
rare.  Average price these days for a crude piece would be in the $50.00 plus range.
These can only be dated if the archaeological data pertaining to their site of origin can be
obtained.  Since all the ones we can acquire are illegally excavated and smuggled out, the
closest one can come is to claim them as Chou objects, which they most likely are, and
leave it at that.  There are also realistic cowrie imitations in metal, usually bronze.  These
are very rare.
"HEAVY" KNIVES & HOLLOW HANDLE SPADES
It is generally accepted that the earliest metal objects made strictly as monetary tokens
were either the hollow handle spades or the heavy knives (or swords).  The spade coins
are smaller and thinner than regular spades, and whereas on a real spade the handle will
extend down into the blade to provide extra support, the handle on the currency spades
ends at the base of the blade, making them totally unfit for real work.  The knives as well
are symbolic, not strong enough for actual use.  Therefore they must be coins, not tools.
Rev. Coole quotes original Chinese texts as stating that copper knives were being used as
coinage in the twelfth century BC.  When the Duke of Ch'i overran the Chi-Mo
"barbarians" in the seventh century BC they had already, according to the records, been
making knife money for over two hundred years.  Thereafter manufacture of the knife
coins was controlled by Ch'i.
The heavy Ch'i knives with three character obverses are fairly common at about $100
each.  They have numerous reverse inscriptions relating to mint departments and series
numbers.  Heavy knives exist with more than three obverse characters.  Some of these are
of Chi-Mo and other cities before the Ch'i conquest.  All are rare.  Prices rise steeply with
each additional character.  Seven character knives will fetch often over $1000.
Fakes exist of the heavy knife series.  Many are easily identifiable as such.  These would
be made out of brass from nineteenth century Ch'ing cash rather than copper, artificially
patinated, obvious once you've seen a real one.  However deceptive counterfeits exist of
the rare multi-character pieces.  There are also broken coins, excellently repaired and
passed as undamaged.  Check knives carefully before buying.
Hollow handle spades come in several sizes with numerous inscriptions.  The commonest
one by far is the late small type with the character Wu meaning "Military."  These can be
found in patinated "XF" for $300 or so.  Again, be careful of expert repairs of broken
tips, handles, etc.  The next most common is An Tsang which is rare.  I have seen a (not
very good) deceptive fake of one of these, sold as genuine.  The metal was OK, but the
patina was bad and the technique was sloppy.  All other hollow handle spades are very
rare.
EVOLUTION OF KNIVES & SPADES
Both of these major shapes were copied in succeeding centuries by various constituent
states in the Chou empire.  The spades were firmly tied to Gresham's law, and tended to
grow smaller.  After a time the hollow handle was abandoned leaving only a silhouette
which became less spade-like with time.
The flat spades divide by shape into six main types, distinguished by shape.  These are
described by Rev. Coole as "thick and heavy," "pointed foot, "small, flat, non-notched,"
"late small square foot, "late rounded foot," "commemoratives," and "not conforming to
major types."  He does not attempt any firm attributions, neither to place nor to date.
Nevertheless he and others will essay a rough chronology which would place the "thick
and heavies" earliest, perhaps in the period of the fifth and fourth centuries BC, the
"pointed foot" types later, and the "small square foot" types at the close of the Chou
period.
THICK AND HEAVY SPADES
Several types of these have shown up on the market.  The largest quantity of these, no
great number, would be the An I coins with the characters written from the "handle"
down to the feet.  Specimens in presentable F-VF have been running $200-400.  An I
coins also exist with the characters upside down to the abovementioned arrangement.
They are rare.  Next most frequent offerings have been the Kung spades with the odd
flared handle.  These are also rare.  Rarer still, but occasionally offered, are big
impressive pieces with long inscriptions beginning with Liang....  These typically
approach or exceed $1000, with perhaps twenty pieces or less having appeared on the
market in the last decade.  Several other heavy types exist, but very few have been seen.
POINTED FOOT SPADES
Small quantities of this type have become available.  They tend to sell out and not be
replaced for a while.  Pointed foot coins come in larger and smaller sizes.  Commonest
varieties are the smaller pieces of Szu Shih, Y, P'ing Chou, Szu, I, perhaps a few more.
Undamaged pieces get $50 to $100 on average.
SMALL, FLAT, NON-NOTCHED SPADES
I've never seen any of these offered.
LATE, SMALL, SQUARE FOOT SPADES
These are the most common types, usually available in small wholesale quantities.
Commonest inscription by far is An Yang, with P'ing Yang, Kuan, Chih I occurring less
frequently.  Coole lists 117 inscriptions, plus several not deciphered or blank.  Most of
them have not appeared for sale.  Average retail for common ones is $25 or so.  Note that
the average weight of these is 4-5 grams, but scarcer pieces are occasionally found
double weight.
LATE ROUNDED FOOT SPADES
Some examples of these types have been offered in the last decade.  Once again An Yang
is least rare, but these are hardly ever offered and get several hundred dollars when they
are.
COMMEMORATIVES
Coole illustrates one of these on p.229 of Vol. 4.  The inscription refers to the federation
of two states.  Though Coole doesn't mention it, and who am I after all to make claims,
the photo does not look like one of an ancient piece.
NON-CONFORMING SPADES
My memory fades.  Seems to me I've seen a piece of the Shu I Chin coins in an auction
somewhere.  It has a nice round notch on the bottom  to distinguish it from other spades.
Other "non-conforming" types are very rare or never offered.
Following the "non-conforming" section Coole lists a set of debatable pieces.  These are
generally not offered.  Dealers coming across these would tend to hold them aside in
hopes of eventually identifying them.
With all spades one should entertain the possibility of forgery.  Look first for the yellow
metal which would indicate nineteenth century manufacture.  Beyond that examine
casting style, writing style, patina, etc. in comparison with known genuine specimens.
SMALL KNIVES
In market terms these can be divided into Ming pieces and "others".  Coole divides the
"others" into "pointed tipped" and "minor" types.
Ming type knives are small, light pieces bearing on the obverse the selfsame character
Ming meaning "brightness."  The reverse inscriptions refer to series numbers, mint
divisions, etc.  Most are shaped more or less like a straight razor.  An occasional
specimen will have a curved back.  As a group they are by far the most common item of
the Chou dynasty, being the only ones occasionally available by the hundred.  Retail
prices for these hover around $15-20.
The small "pointed tip" types are all rare and are hardly ever offered.  The "minor" types
include among others the Kan Tan and Pai Ren pieces with blunt tips.  These are
occasionally offered, usually in relatively poor states of preservation, for $100 or more.
ANT & NOSE COINS
These are little copper pieces roughly the shape of a teardrop.  They bear a vague
resemblance to the cowrie, prompting speculation that they are evolutions of same, which
assertion is disputed by Coole among others.  Formerly quite rare, the "nose" type
(translated by Coole as Tang Pan Liang or "worth half an ounce") has become reasonably
common, typically going for $20 or so.  Somewhat less available are the "ant" coins
(Coole = Tang Ko Liu Chu or "Each equivalent to six chu"), usually costing only a few
dollars more.  Scarcer, but still occasionally available are the Chn, Hsing,  and Hsin
types, prices of which will usually exceed $30.
DEBATABLE PIECES
There are a number of bronze items, indubitably of Chou provenance, whose numismatic
status is in doubt.  The question is really whether the issuers meant them to be used as
coins.  In actual Chinese practice bronze items of any sort would be thrown on the scales
and traded at their intrinsic value.  The debatable pieces are found in excavations mixed
up with unquestionable coins.  What is one to think?
Under the "debatable" rubric Coole places the following classes: Ch'ing ("bridge" or
"tingle-dangle" money, of a shape similar to the ancient stone musical chimes), Chung
(bells), Kan Tun (shield frames), Lung Niu Tsing ("coiled dragon and stars" shaped like
squared off paddles), Ou Hsin Ch'ien ("lotus root heart coins, also called "key" coins on
the theory that they may have been ancient keys), Shu Ch'ien (currycomb money), and
Y (fish).
Of these categories only the Ch'ing or "bridge money" have become generally available.
Formerly rare, several hundred to a few thousand pieces of various varieties have made it
to the market.  Few or none have remained unsold.  Price for a small one with no design
would be in the $30 range, with more fancy specimens costing much more.  Bronze fish,
used in religious ritual, are occasionally offered.  They continued to be made as amulets
into the twentieth century.  The occasional offer of a fish shaped piece is usually of a
later specimen.  Chou pieces are rare.  The other debatable pieces are never offered.
ROUND COINS
The round bronze coins are said to have evolved from the knife coins, the blade being
eventually realized as extraneous and an impediment to trade.  Certainly the small round
coin with inscription Ming Tao (rare, about $150) is at least related to, if not descended
from the Ming knives.  The larger coins may or may not be related to knives.  Of these
the Yuan pieces are easiest to find, often obtainable for less than $100.  Large round
coins with other inscriptions are scarce to rare.
PRECIOUS METAL
Recent excavations have brought up some Chou era gold coins.  These are sheets of gold
sectioned off into little squares, a single character impressed in each square.  The idea
was to cut  a square from the sheet as needed.  A few of these have made it to the market,
fetching fabulous prices.
(To be continued.)
 
 

CHINA - Cast round coins, 3rd Century BC - 1913
The main currency of China from 221 BC until the 1920s was in the form of cast copper
coins with square center holes.  It is a wonderful series to collect.  One can make a nice
collection of several hundred different pieces and never pay more than say $3.00 per
coin.  In this series are the absolute cheapest ancients and medievals.  What other series
has BC coins for $2.50?  Or thousand year old coins for 50 cents or less?  Though availability
is down from its peak about ten years ago, there is still enough around, with more coming
out, to maintain nice low prices for the ordinary material, and one can be assured that
most of the rare pieces will also turn up in one's lifetime.
For this article, just for fun, I'll use pinyin romanization.  You probably won't have any
trouble with it.  If you do, too bad.  It's the official right way.  You will use it and like it.
We have ways to make you do what we want!
A question which comes up fairly frequently has to do with the genuineness of the tons of
Chinese cash which have been placed (umph!) on the market.  Now I'm willing to admit
that I've been fooled.  Twice.  I purchased a rare Song piece which was fraudulently
made from nineteenth century coins and artificially blackened to fool just such a
demi-expert as myself (and the guy I bought it from of course).  I also got a hollow
handle spade and missed the repaired tip (and so did he!)  Counterfeits are not rare.  I've
seen thousands.  Most, whether contemporary or made for collectors, I can tell at a
glance.  With practice you will too.  Most material coming out now, including the "as
struck" ancients, are genuine.
Authenticity, like most things Chinese, is actually not quite so cut and dried.  In various
places at various times "private" casting was sanctioned,and one is always finding coins
which are smaller and cruder than the government standard for that particular issue.  Too,
official corruption at the mints often led to production of an "A" coinage and a "B"
coinage.  The Japanese imitated Chinese coin types for several hundred years, the
Vietnamese for about a thousand.  I believe it was Macao in the nineteenth century where
an industrial district was given over to the manufacture of counterfeit cash to spend in
Canton.  In the case of small Ban Liang many or most are probably private castings, and
who could tell for sure anyway?  Probably 20-30% of Northern Song coins are privates.
Some coins seem to be available only as privates.  On the other hand, most Qing lots
contain very few counterfeits.  The wholesalers take them out and you have to try,
usually unsuccessfully to buy them separately.
Then there are the amulets.  These have been made for luck, for fun, for religion, for
memento, all sorts of reasons.  Some of them are obviously not coins, being larger, more
ornate, artistic, etc.  Unmistakable.  Others are just exactly like coins, except perhaps a
bit larger or smaller than they're supposed to be, or they have the wrong style of
calligraphy, or a strange reverse inscription, or even just dots and lines which don't
belong.  Since most but certainly not all of these were privately made, any
comprehensive catalog would be more or less impossible (though an able attempt has
been made for Korea).  This has tended to depress the price for these items.
While we're discussing amulets you should be aware of the occasional coin which has
been "amuletized."  Usually this was done by engraving the coin.  Engraving can be
simple, turning a 25 cents coin into a $2.00 item, or it can be complex, yielding a pricey piece
of art.  The other main amuletizing methods were placing the coins in ornate settings,
including making strings of them into swords, bowls, fish, human figures, etc., and
painting them.  In my experience engraved coins are one in several thousand items,
(crudely) painted coins are "a few" per thousand, and of course "emplaced" coins do not
occur in lots.
On to the coins themselves.
QIN DYNASTY, 255 - 207 BC
One of the Zhou feudatories, the head of the House of Qin, overthrew the last Zhou
Emperor.  His successors proceeded to suppress the other noble families whose power
had been both the strength and the weakness ofthe Zhou state.  Modern centralized
government was inaugurated by the penultimate emperor of this line, known to us as Qin
Shi Huangdi, 221-209 BC, from whose tomb has recently been excavated the celebrated
terra cotta army.  He was the first in China to establish the welfare of the state as the
prime consideration of government, abolishing local laws, burning the old books, killing
scholars, and prohibiting the teaching of unauthorized subjects.  To set the boundaries of
his domain he built the Great Wall.  He also suppressed the local coinage, replacing the
various knives, swords, round coins, etc. with the round-coin-square-hole pieces which
thereafter became the standard.
These first cash were large size coins inscribed Ban Liang.  Ban Liang were made for a
couple of centuries under both Qin and Han Emperors.  Lately some people are claiming
that they were also cast during the last years of Zhou.  (To enjoy Chinese coins you must
have a predeliction for ambiguity.)  The Ban Liang come in various sizes from 65mm
down to about 10mm.  The pieces of about 15 grams and 36 plus millimeters are
traditionally attributed to the House of Qin.  15 grams make half (Ban) of a Chinese tael
or ounce (Liang), and thus are supposed to be the "standard."  Larger coins would then be
assumed to be amuletic or presentation pieces.  Whatever, the 15 gram coins are highly
desired, are pretty scarce, and usually get over $100.  Pieces larger than that are
extremely rare.  I don't remember ever seeing any offered.
Several other coins are attributed to the Qin.  Most are large coins with various ordinal
numbers on them.  All of them are very rare, many are today seen only as rubbings in the
books.
HAN DYNASTY, 206 BC - 200 AD
Qin Shi Hunagdi may have been a brutal tyrant but that didn't stop the populace from
illegally casting enormous volumes of counterfeits.  Upon the death of Qin Shi his son Er
Shi ("Second Emperor") ascended.  He could'nt keep the lid on as his father had, and was
overthrown, a statistically normal fate for the children of tyrants.
At the time of the accession of the House of Han the currency reflected the anarchy
which prevailed in the land.  The Qin policy of maintaining a high intrinsic value had
made for a terrific coin shortage, which void was filled by the illegal light imitations.
The response of the beneficient Han Emperor was to legalize private casting without
imposing any standards.  Everybody went to town with their homemade money.  Obeying
Gresham's law the coins got progressively smaller, still bearing the old Ban Liang
inscription. until they attained the august size of 10mm.  The tiny pieces are called "elm
leaves" by Schj”th and "elm seeds" by Fisher.  The elm leaves are actually fairly elusive,
and are not found in wholesale lots of Ban Liang.  They had traditionally been extremely
cheap on account of being so small and ugly.  Lately their scarcity has been recognized
and they will get up to five times the price of a common Ban Liang, which is to say
$10-20.
The government eventually felt that it had to take the currency in hand.  It issued a coin
with two thirds the weight of the old Qin coins.  These are identified by their Chinese
weight as "8 zhu Ban Liang," the zhu being equivalent to 100 millet seeds.  The 8 zhu
coins are traditionally ascribed to the Empress Gao, 187-180 BC, and are usually $20-30
items.
Being caught in the normal bind of governments everywhere, Han felt itself compelled to
inflation, and forthwith produced coins of 4 zhu weight, yet still retaining the old "half
ounce" legend.  These are ascribed to the Emperor Xiao Wen, 179-156 BC.  They are
fairly easy to obtain at $8 or so.
As the constraints on the government mounted it started to experiment with still smaller
coins.  Coins were issued inscribed Si ("four") and San ("three") Zhu.  These were not
accepted by the people and are rare.  Bowing to tradition the government issued Ban
Liang coins, but it achieved its fiscal objective by setting the weight where it wanted itat
3 zhu.  These are ascribed to the early years of the Emperor Wu.  They are absolutely the
cheapest BC coins in the world.  You can buy them by the hundred.  Nice ones are a
couple of bucks.
There are a few "special" Ban Liang coins with extra characters, dots, lines, slightly
different readings, etc., and a few other odd pieces of the period (the Yi Huo series, e.g.).
All are rare.
Control over the weight of the Ban Liang coinage never having been obtained, the
government resolved again to replace them.  In 118 BC it introduced the Wu (five) Zhu
coins.  They were nice coins with outer rims to discourage filing and were so well
accepted by the people that they continued to be issued by the Han and successors for
about seven hundred years.  For the most part they maintained their size and weight,
which became more or less the standard size for Chinese cash coins thereafter.
According to tradition BC versions of the Wu Zhu are known by the rendering of the
character Zhu, in which the phoneme is written with square "hips."  These get a big
premium, usually goinng for $20 or so.  Later versions have round "hips" and can be
obtained for a dollar or so.
There are records of silver coins being made by the Han, but none have been found in our
time.
THE "INTERREGNUM"
The continuity of the Han dynasty was interrupted in 7 AD when the minister Wang
Mang deposed the emperor and usurped the throne.  He gave himself the dynastic name
Xin, but the Chinese to not accept him as a legitimate emperor, and do not mention his
dynastic style in the records.
Wang Mang attempted to reform governmental to better approach the old Zhou practices.
In the realm of finance he tried to introduce a denominated token currency in copper and
an official precious metal coinage.  None of the latter are known to survive.  The earliest
of these "reformed" coins were the Chi Dao and Yi Dao knives and the Da Quan Wu Shi
cash.  The knives in no way resemble their Zhou precursors, looking more like modern
keys, or a cash coin with an attached blade.  There are two types, value "500" and 5000"
cash respectively, the latter with the Yi Dao inscription incuse and filled with gold.  The
500 is scarce and gets a couple of hundred dollars.  The 5000 is rare.  Its owners usually
ask four figures.  The round ends with blade removed are sometimes found, getting $80
or more.
The Da Quan Wu Shi were first issued as robust coins, larger than the Wu Zhu but not
worth anything near the 50 cash claimed by their inscriptions.  A poor excuse for a
reform, not likely to inspire public confidence.  Extensive counterfeiting occurred, and
these coins are found in sizes ranging from 27mm down to 12mm or so.  The big ones are
$5 coins these days.  Little ones go for more.
Several other coins of the Da Quan series were issued.  These include values of ten,
twenty, thirty, forty, and one.  All are rare except for the "one," the Xiao Quan Zhi Yi
which usually runs $10 or so.
Wang Mang issued several different types of spades.  These somewhat resemble the late
small square foot types of Zhou.  There is a series of small pieces with numerical values
from "100" to "1000."  Only the "1000" piece with inscription Da Bu Huang Qian readily
findable at $35 or so.
None of the denominated coins worked.  They were withdrawn in 14 AD and replaced by
the Huo Bu spades and the Huo Quan cash.  This was a very prolific coinage.  The spades
are $10-20 in XF.  The cash are $1 or so, not bad for a coin contemporaneous with the
reign of Augustus in Rome.  Both types have been available in "as struck."  There are
varieties of the Huo Quan.  These include smaller pieces, extra lines and dots, and the
enigmatic pieces up to 20 times the normal weight, dubbed "bisquits" in the trade.  These
are all scarcer than the normal coins.
The last numismatic effort of Wang Mang was the issue of the Bu Quan cash.  These are
scarcer than the Huo Quan coins, and used to get $20 or more.  Now they run about $5.
His reign dissolving into chaos, revolt broke out in Sichuan province.  The rebels issued a
small iron coin, accounted the first iron of the series, inscribed Tie Ban Liang ("iron half
tael").  This coin is extremely rare.
THE HAN RESTORED
With the death of Wang Mang the Han authority was reestablished and the Wu Zhu
coinage resumed.  These later Wu Zhu are very common, sometimes available for less
than $1.  There are numerous "dot and line" varieties, also some with extra or repeated
characters.  Examples in iron are known.  These are all more expensive than the normal
type.  There are also coins from which the center has been cut out.  Both the centers and
the outer rings circulated and both are available of late at a few dollars.  As the power of
the Han waned the Wu Zhu were cast by neighboring contemporary dynasties, sometimes
with distinctive variations, sometimes "as is."  There is also a scarce late Han coin called
the Wu wen xiao qian ("no legend small coin") which is scarce, but no one ever believes
they have a real one.  How can you tell if a blank coin is genuine?  So they are both hard
to get and hard to sell.
END OF HAN TO START OF TANG
221 - 589 AD China was a divided country.  There was instability, war, problems,
turmoil for about four hundred years.  This period coincides with the time of troubles on
all the fringes of Eurasia from Gaul to India.  The triggering mechanism for this political
decline was the expanded wandering of the various Central Asian horse peoples.  These
migrations out of the hearland were always traumatic for all concerned.  Where their
numbers became large enough the civilized bureaucratic structure collapsed.   All of the
wanderers were war-like.  Some groups were ferocious.  They often won their
engagements and were fond of pillage and looting and rape and wanton destruction.  The
settled folk hated them and refferred to them collectively as "Barbarians."
(Some surmise drought and famine as proximate causes for a tribe to get up and go.  In
the latest and best documented of these expansions, that of the Mongols, the legend
ascribes an ecstatic vision by Jenghis Khan as the spark.  But you have to remember that
the bubonic plague accompanied the movements of the Mongols, so some degree of
natural disturbance can be assumed.)
So as Rome was unsuccessfully dealing with the Celts and the Goths, in China it was the
various Tatar tribes who eventually brought down the Han.  The period is known as the
"Six Dynasties" Era, to whit: Wu, Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen.  However, other small
kingdoms issued coins during this period.  It's confusing.  Most of the coins are rare.
In 221 AD Wei broke away from Han, followed in 229 by Wu.  Wei continued to make
Wu Zhu.  Wu issued the big Da Quan Wu Bai and the very big Da Quan Dang Qian,
respectively valued at 500 and 1000.  Actually the 500 comes pretty small.  I had one
once the size of a nickel.  But they're all pretty rare.  You're a lucky duck to find a 500 for
$50, and let's not talk about the 1000.  Wu also issued little Tai Ping Bai Qian and a few
other "Ping" coins.  Same comments apply.
The House of Han lingered on until 265 AD.  They issued the Zhi Bai Wu Zhu ("worth
100 Wu Zhu") in various sizes, with a few varieties and derivatives as usual.  The
"regular" coins are $50 or so, the "fancies" are rare.  What are they worth to you?
In all, 221 -265 AD is known as the "Three Kingdoms" period.  It closes with the advent
of the Western Jin, 265 - 316 AD,to whom are ascribed the tiny Wu Zhu, 10mm dia.,
which are the second commonest of Six Dynasties coins.  Availability is spotty.  Prices
range from $10 to $20.  Jin moved its capital east and issued the Tai Xia Ji Xing and Tai
Yuan Huo Quan coins, which are so rare that Schj”th didn't list them.  I've certainly never
seen them.
The Jin government disintegrated in 420, beset by rebellion.  Two very rare coins, Feng
Huo,and Han Xing, are ascribed to the rebels.  The next 169 years are called "The
Division of North and South."
Song, 420 - 478, cast Si ("four") Zhu coins (rare), a larger than normal Wu Zhu (rare),
Xiao Jian (rare, but I had one once), Jing Ho, Xiao Shou and Yong Guang (all very rare),
and a set of small coins with round holes denominated in Zhu, some of them square,
which are very very rare.
Laing, 502 - 565, cast a distinctive wu Zhu with a complete inner rim on obverse, which
feature is lacking in Han specimens.  It also issued Liang Zao Xin Quan, Da Ji Wu Zhu,
Da Tong Wu Zhu, and Da Fu Wu Zhu, all of which are rare.
Chen, 557 - 587, issued Tai Huo Liu Zhu, which is very rare.
Northern Wei, 386 - 584, made the Tai Ho Wu Zhu and the Yong An Wu Zhu (both
scarce, $50 or so).
Northern Chi, 550 - 577 issued Chang Ping Wu Zhu ( maybe $25-35).
Northern Zhou, 557 - 581, made a Pu Quan (maybe $30), Wu Xing Da Bu (rare), and
Yong Tong Wan Guo.  This last coin comes in sizes ranging from a double cash to 10
cash.  The middle size ones are handsome coins, slightly available, usually at $40-50.
The oldest amulet I ever owned had a Yong Tong obverse, Ursa major reverse.
At the close of the period all China was united under the Sui Dynasty, 581-618 AD.  Sui
issued a very distinctive Wu Zhu in which the Wu is formed of two traingles.  This coin
is fairly available at $10.00 or less.  Also attributed to Sui is a very rare Ping Dang Wu
Zhu.
The Six Dynasties period closes with the advent of the glorious Tang.  Tang established
the four character obverse which became standard for the next thirteen hundred years.  I'll
continue from there next time.
 

CHINA -Cast Coins 618 AD - 1280
The rise of the Tang Dynasty, 618 - 907 AD, marks the emergence of the modern state
that we recognize today as China.  Chinese governments are traditionally classified
according to their yin / yang nature.  Tang was quite assertive and outgoing.  Externally it
advanced the borders at the expense of the Turks and the Vietnamese and pursued active
relations with India, Persia, and the Islamic Caliphate.  Internally it refined
administration and encouraged arts and learning.  Financially it promoted stability by,
among other things, reforming the coinage.  The Tang reforms set patterns which lasted
until the advent of the Republic.
When the armies of the first Emperor Gao Zu entered the old Sui capital Changan they
found great disorder in the coinage.  Tiny counterfeit coins made up the entirety of the
circulation.  These he replaced with the Kai Yuan ("New Gate" more or less) Tong Bao
money.  These were the first Tong Bao ("Good money" more or less) coins, which
became the standard appellation.  The weight of 3«g and the presence of rims inside and
out, front and back also set the norm thereafter.
The regular Kai Yuan coinage is extremely plentiful.  Contemporaneous with the "dark
ages" of Western Europe, you can get an average circulated piece for 50 cents, a nice VF for
$1.  It was struck without change for the next three centuries.
In this coinage calligraphy varieties start to emerge as collecting possibilities.  These
varieties were officially ordered to mark some occasion or other.  Most of these
occasions are now unknown.  In the Kai Yuan coins one finds variations in the character
Yuan.  The lower horizontal stroke is written with left (common), right (not common),
and double (scarce) hooks, also no hooks (straight and curved, both common).
Pricewise, a "right hook" is $5 or so, a "double hook" somewhere between $10 and $20.
Crescents and dots, also known as moons and stars, were added to these coins as
distinguishing marks.  The Kai Yuan crescent is supposed to be the mark of the long nail
on the little finger of the Emperor's right hand, impressed by him in the reverse mold to
indicate his approval.  The nailmarks are found in many different positions on the
reverse.  "Bowl" crescents on top are common (50 cents), "lids" on the bottom are much less
available ($2-3), others go on from there.  The marks vary in size too, from big
impressive ones to thin, short things which might just be mistakes, but probably aren't.
Kai Yuan with dots are fairly scarce as Kai Yuan go.  The commonest dot coins are
probably those with the dot under the Tong on the obverse.  This mark indicates a branch
mint and runs $10 or so.  Coins exist with both moon and star and are fairly scarce.
Also found for the first time in this series are anomalous coins where the impressions in
the mold were rotated 90 degrees, yielding what is called an octagon or "flower" hole.
These are fairly scarce for most types, occurring most frequently in the coinage of the
Northern Song Dynasty.  The practice died out during the time of the Ming.
The second Tang Emperor continued the Kai Yuan coinage unchanged.  The third could
not leave well enough alone and introduced a new coin, the Qian Feng Quan Bao in 666
AD.  These were tariffed against the Kai Yuan at ten to one, though in size they were
identical.  As usual in China the people rejected the token money.  It was withdrawn and
is very rare today ($100 or more, beware of deceptive fakes).  Learning nothing from
history, the tenth Tang Emperor issued the Qian Yuan Chong Bao in 758 AD.  These
weighed about as much as five of the Kai Yuan but were forced into circulation as equal
to fifty.  Once again they were resisted by the public.  The government backed up and
reduced the value several times.  Then it really put its foot in it by casting a small version
of the Qian Yuan the same size as the Kai Yuan.  General confusion ensued, with much
counterfeiting.  The entire experiment was abandoned, the Kai Yuan remaining
dominant.  Da Li Yuan Bao, the first Yuan Bao ("new money")coin, was made in 766,
Jian Zhong Tong Bao in 780.  Both are extremely rare.  In 780 a full value ten cash was
issued with the Kai Yuan inscription, which is scarce.
In 841 a great persecution of the Buddhists began.  Many temples and monasteries were
sacked, the bronze of the bells and statues being sent to the provincial mints for coining.
The obverse inscription remained Kai Yuan as before, but this time to the reverse was
added the word Chang to indicate the Hui Chang year title.  In subsequent years mint
names were substituted.  Together they  form the "Hui Chang Kai Yuan" series.  On most
of these (and on succeeding coins with reverse inscriptions until the Qing Dynasty) the
reverse is usually found at least a grade lower than the obverse.  Most of these
mintmarked coins are $5-$20 items.  A few (e.g. Ching - the capital province, and Lo -
the capital city) are more common, and a couple (Fu, Yong, Gong) are very rare.
Two extremely rare types end the Tang series.  They are the Xian Tong Xuan Bao of 860
and the Tian Yu Yuan Bao of 904.  I have never even seen counterfeits of these, let alone
the real thing.
A couple of rebellions were attempted later in the Tang period.  Coins produced by the
rebels include the De Yi Yuan Bao and Shun Tian Yuan bao coins, both quite scarce, and
the Tai Qi Tong Bao, which is excessively rare.
THE "FIVE DYNASTIES" PERIOD, 907-960
The five decades following the fall of the House of Tang formed, let us say, a window of
opportunity of which various factions sought to take advantage.  The House of Song
eventually won out.  In the interim not only the Five Dynasties listed in Schj”th, but also
"Ten Kingdoms" as listed in Ding Fubao issued coins.  Here follows a list of the issuers,
issues, and findabilities.  The history is too convoluted for a brief article such as this.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

FIVE DYNASTIES
(all coins are copper "1 cash" unless mentioned
DYNASTY              YEAR TITLE                           COMMENT                                     RARE?

Later Liang            Kai Ping Yuan Bao              1, 10 cash                                   extremely
907-921 AD              Kai Ping Tong Bao              5 cash                                         extremely

Later Tang             Tian Cheng Yuan Bao                                                              extremely
923-935 AD               926 AD
                                Qing Tai Yuan Bao                                                                   extremely
                                  934 AD

Later Jin                 Tian Fu Yuan Bao                                                                    extremely
936-942 AD             Tian Fu Cheng Bao                                                                  extremely
                                  936 AD

Later Han                Han Yuan Tong Bao                                                                scarce
947-948 AD              Qian Yu Yuan Bao                                                                   very rare

Later Zhou              Zhou Yuan Tong Bao          comes with &                               slightly
951-954 AD                                                          without moons                             scarce
                                                                             & stars var-
                                                                             iously placed
                                                                             on rev.
                                                                            10 cash                                         very rare

TEN STATES
(all coins are copper "1 cash" unless mentioned
DYNASTY              YEAR TITLE                          COMMENT                                     RARE?

S. Tang                  Yong Tong Quan Bao                                                               extremely
937-975 AD            Yong Tong Quan Huo          10 cash in                                   extremely
                                                                             orthodox &
                                                                             seal writing
                                Bao Da Yuan Bao                1 & 2 cash                                   extremely
                                Tong Xing Quan Huo                                                                extremely
                                Tang Guo Tong Bao            seal & orth                                    common
                                                                            10 cash                                         rare
                                Da Tang Tong Bao                                                                   rare
                                Kai Yuan Tong Bao             seal script                                     common
                                                                            iron 1 cash                                    rare

Zhu                         Qian Feng Quan Bao          5 & 10 cash                                  rare
907-953 AD                                                         also in iron                                    very rare
                                Tian Ci Fu Bao                    10 cash                                        extremely
                                Yong Ho Tong Bao              1 & 10 cash                                 extremely

Min                          Yong Long Tong Bao          2 & 3 cash                                   extremely
907-948 AD             Tian De Tong Bao               3 cash                                         extremely
                                Tian De Chong Bao             3 cash                                         extremely
                                 Kai Yuan Tong Bao             10 cash                                       rare

S. Han                      Qian Heng Tong Bao                                                              extremely
907-970 AD              Qian Heng Chong Bao        copper                                        extremely
                                                                              lead                                            available
                                  Da Yu Yuan Pao                                                                    extremely
                                  Guang Tian Yuan Bao                                                           extremely

Anterior Shu            Yong Ping Yuan Bao                                                             extremely
907-925 AD               Tong Zheng Yuan Bao                                                          extremely
                                   Tian Han Yuan Bao                                                              rare
                                   Guang Tian Yuan Bao                                                          scarce
                                   Qian De Yuan Bao                                                               scarce
                                   Xian Kang Yuan Bao                                                            scarce

Later Shu                  Ming De Tong Bao                                                              extremely
925-966 AD                Guang Zheng Tong Bao                                                     extremely
                                    Da Shu Tong Bao                                                              extremely

Unknown                  Ying Sheng Yuan Bao                                                          extremely
                                   Ying Tian Yuan Bao                                                             extremely
 

NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY
The great House of Song established its sway over most of China by 960 AD, though
some of the "Ten Kingdoms" endured for a decade or so.  Song ruled united China until
1127, when the north was overrun by the Tatars, and endured thereafter in the south until
extinguished by the Mongols in 1279.
The early Song Emperors were fond of changing their year titles.  For the eight Northern
Emperors there thirty one different year titles on the coins.  For many of the issues the
same year title will have both a Tong Bao and a Yuan Bao designation, a few will be
styled Chong Bao ("heavy money") as well.  To this profusion of types can be added what
I'll call "level 1" calligraphy varieties.  This is where the overall style is typically
rendered in the so-called "seal," "orthodox," or "grass" styles, among others.  Some Song
types were issued in all three styles.  Thus we have a rather large series.
There are also quite a few moon and star varieties.  Most are at least scarce.  And it is
actually even more complicated than that.  The Song were also fond of making what I'll
call "level II" calligraphy varieties.  This is where, for example, the top component of
Tong is rendered as either a triangle or as a square, the changes being made for various
administrative and commemorative reasons.  There are a lot of these small calligraphy
varieties.  Some are listed in the "Big Three" references, but there are many more.  I
heard a rumor once that there was a Japanese reference for these varieties but I've never
seen the book.
The good news about the Northern Song coins is that most of them are extremely
common.  You can get most of the year titles as 1 cash coins in acceptable condition for
less than $1 each.  A half  dozen are difficult, only a very few are impossible.  Currently
Northern Song coins are available by the thousand, exported from Indonesia, where they
were sent by Ming traders, to Singapore, thence into our market.
For Song the chart format once again seems applicable.
 

NORTHERN SONG COINS

YEAR TITLE                              COMMENTS                                             RARITY

Song Yuan Tong Bao          numerous moon & star varieties,                  "normal"
968-976                               this title is picked out by  wholesalers
                                             in Singapore
    iron 1 cash                                                                                              extremely

Tai Ping Tong Bao               seal script                                                      very
976-990                                orthodox script                                              common
     iron one cash                                                                                         extremely
     iron 10 cash                                                                                           extremely

Chun Hua Yuan Bao            orthodox script                                             common
990-995                                grass script                                                  common
     2 cash                                                                                                   rare
     iron 1 cash                                                                                            extremely

Zhi Dao Yuan Bao                 seal script                                                    "normal"
995-998                                 orthodox script                                             common
                                              grass script                                                  common
                                              grass script w/ abbrev. Dao                         common

Xian Ping Yuan Bao              orthodox script                                             common
998-1004
    2 cash                                                                                                    rare
    10 cash                                                                                                  extremely

Jing De Yuan Bao                 orthodox                                                       common
1004-1008
    iron 10 cash                                                                                           extremely

Xiang Fu Yuan Bao                 orthodox                                                     common
1008-1017                              sim. w/ wide rims                                       scarce
     2 cash                                                                                                   rare
     3 cash                                                                                                   rare
     iron 2 cash                                                                                            extremely
     iron 3 cash                                                                                            extremely

Xiang Fu Tong Bao                  orthodox                                                    "normal"

Tian Xi Tong Bao                      seal script                                                rare
1017-1023                                orthodox script                                         common
     iron 2 cash                                                                                           extremely

Tian Sheng Yuan Pao               seal script                                               common
1023-1032                                 orthodox script                                        common
     orthodox iron 1 cash                                                                            extremely
     seal iron 2 cash                                                                                   extremely

Ming Dao Yuan Bao                   seal script                                             "normal"
1032-1034                                  orthodox script                                      "normal"
                                            This title sometimes picked
                                                  by the wholesalers

Jing Yu Yuan Bao                        seal script                                            scarce
1034-1038                                   orthodox script                                     common
     iron 2 cash                                                                                          extremely

Huang Song Tong Bao                 seal and orthodox script,
1038-1040                                     large & small chars., all:                    common
                                                      Mongol seal script                              extremely
     2 cash