Warring States Period - Qi 齊 State. Six characters knife coin. In archaic script. This coin, cast in the shape of a knife, was commissioned by Duke Xiang, who ruled the State of Qi from 283 to 265 BC. Xiang was enthroned at a time when the state had lost all its territory but two cities. After years of bitter battles under Xiang’s steady leadership, Qi retrieved all its lands including its capital city. In celebration of the victory, Qi minted a set of coins, which became the earliest commemorative coins in Chinese history. They are generally named according to the number of Chinese characters inscribed on their front surface – in threes, fours, fives and sixes. This is the largest knife coin in my collection.
Very nice AE Knife @Loong Siew ! Super looking and nice point. The obv patina is a cool contrast around the characters to the green background. I am a very casual collector of Chinese History, purely due to my extensive travels there. I have only ONE Knife Money, and I poorly photographed it. I reckon I have it "just to have it." But it IS kinda fun to say "Yeah, I was in that area where that knife was cast 2500 years ago." (Same thought for many of my other Chinese monies.): China Ming Knife money 400-220 BCE bronze Hartill 4.42-3 I rely on Hartill for my attributes, but cannot read Chinese. I know a few modern characters, but no ancient. I thought it interesting that the size of the drawings of a coin in my book is very much the size of the coin. So, I can lay the coin onto the diagram and have a good idea to size.
I do not know them as intimately as I'd like, but I am familiar with them. Which raises the question, where did you get this knife? The calligraphy and patina both look odd. I trust your abilities and authentication and finding reputable dealers, but this coin gives me pause.
To be honest this is a study coin for me.. even I cannot be too certain about this as I got it from a different dealer out of a gamble. What intrigued me was the patina.. i could not immediately discount it as fake upon close inspection. Smell test did not produce a chemical scent. I am attaching photos on natural lighting.
Also the characters here resembles a specimen that was recorded in a Republic Era coin manual 丁福寶。 http://blog.sina.cn/dpool/blog/s/blog_738ba101010170y3.html
I just don't like how all of the characters and markings looks flat and lifeless, especially the reverse. Even the ring on the handle is flat, which I often take as a sign as no good. I know you have some genuine examples, so I think you know what I mean. The patina is much better than most fakes I have seen, but I just can't convince myself it is real. Let me do some more looking around.
