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Message:: [QUOTE="manymore, post: 758871, member: 17118"]Unfortunately, this is a "fantasy" piece. The character on your example of Chinese "knife money" resembles an "eye" which means that it is based on the "ming" knife money cast by the State of Yan during the years 400-220 BC of the Warring States period. Even though the images are too small to see such details as patina, type of metal, quality of casting, etc., no "ming" knife or other type of Chinese knife money had such a sharp bend between the "handle" and "blade". The <a href="http://primaltrek.com/chinesecoins.html#knife_money" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://primaltrek.com/chinesecoins.html#knife_money" rel="nofollow">earliest types of Chinese knife money</a> date from about 600 BC. No form of Chinese knife money is known to have existed as early as 1122 BC. Also, none of the early forms of Chinese money can possibly be dated to a specific year. The only universally recognized form of money used in China as early as 1122 BC is the cowrie shell. The first "man-made" form of Chinese money was imitation bronze and <a href="http://primaltrek.com/chinesecoins.html#cowrie_shell_money" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://primaltrek.com/chinesecoins.html#cowrie_shell_money" rel="nofollow">bone cowrie shells</a> but they were probably not produced and used as money until a slightly later period. Gary[/QUOTE]