I found these two coins(?) in a collection of chinese cash and early ROC coins. One of the items has an adhesive strip on the back side suggesting that it might have been in a collection holder of some kind. Both are made of bone I believe. Does anyone know anything about these? Thx Item #1 Obv Item #1 Rev Item #2 Obv Item #2 Rev
absolutely impossible to identify due to the excessive wear, you could always use them as machine washers.
I'm pretty sure these are not coins. The shape, proportions and round hole make me think they are what the Chinese call a bi (璧). The bi was originally a burial object that was often found in Neolithic tombs in China. No one is quite sure of their purpose or meaning but they are believed to represent the heavens or the sun. The neolithic and later bi were made of jade and were larger than your pieces. Most were plain like yours but some had ornate engravings. The bi is now generally considered to be a "good luck" symbol. Modern examples tend to be small like yours. The better ones are still made of jade but you can find examples in many types of stone and other materials. I would doubt that your pieces are very ancient. Bone would probably be considered a little unusual for a bi, if indeed they are made of bone. It is certainly an easier material to work with than jade. Incidentally, bone was used in very ancient times as the material to make "cowrie shells" which were used as money during the Eastern Zhou Dyanasty (770 BC - 256 BC). An example of such a man-made bone "cowrie shell" may be seen here. Gary
