Bridge "Money" from the Zhou Dynasty during the Spring-Autumn Period (770-476BC) Many collectors or dealers as well as some numismatists regard early archaic designed bronze pieces like these Bridges as "currency". They could very well have been but others consider them more likely as burial objects representing chimes or bells of the period. Regardless, they were in the most part Proto-currency until the introduction of the official spades, knives and round currencies much later during the late Spring-Autumn and Warring States period.
I'm just going with what Scott Semans and Steve Album say. They seem to be getting the attribution from the same source (unknown to me), saying that "most" Chinese numismatists now accept this attribution. Kind of interesting, as the Ba confederation and the Shu state in the far west are rather mysterious. They both fell to the Qin in 316 BC (first Ba helped the Qin conquer Shu, then the Qin turned on the Ba), so the current view seems to be that the bridge money was issued under Qin domination. (They're found with early Qin round coins.)
Thanks for the write up and info @Loong Siew ! I only have one to offer: China Chou Dyn Spring Autumn Period 770-476 BCE Bridge Money
Actually Hartill himself doesn't quiet confirm if these were actually currencies. Some Chinese numismatists I spoke to even referred to these as funerary offerings representing bronze bells of the Zhou Dynasty.
