Post Your Chinese Coins Thread!

I'm not aware of this having been done before, so I'll start one now. There have been a little too few threads on non-European empire coins, so maybe this will create some diversity. I'm also a little curious to see what everyone has from this neglected area of numismatics.

Post anything Chinese or any cash coins from other Eastern countries.

I'll start.

 

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All of my Chinese coins would fit in one 2x2 with room left over for a coin, but this is a cool thread with awesome photos....maybe one of these days.

 

Bought as a set for $10 , the cash coins are mounted on a display card.

 

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I have quite a few, from cowries to Qing dynasty, but hardly any photos. Here are three.
"Bridge money" from the Ba and Shu states (306-221 BC):


Yuan (Mongol) dynasty, Wu Zong (Khaishan) (1308-1311)

(Yuan dynasty is frustratingly difficult to get, because they mostly issued paper money. This is one of the most common Yuan coins.)

And moving all the way to the 18th century, Qing dynasty, Xian Feng (1851-1861), Suzhou, Jiangsu province, issued in 1854-55. This is a 100 cash coin measuring a full 60mm!

 

That's a beautiful assortment, @TypeCoin971793! Maybe you could post a few individually, that you find particularly interesting? I love your hollow handled spades, the Dang Jin spade (?), the big three character knife, and the lovely northern Zhou in the middle of the big photo.

 

Mine that I have photo'd:

 

Most of my Chinese collection I captured from @Ken Dorney , Scott Seman, Frank S Robinson, and Bob Reis. Also a couple from our own @TypeCoin971793

 

Chinese proto coins and cash are relatively inexpensive and interesting. they now denote currency to be coins if it has inscriptions on it. soo.. here's a cowrie shell, used as money 4000 years or so. ant nose example with the Chinese symbol for money on it, being a cowrie shell indentations, spade and knife coins 750-250 BCE and a bronze cash Pan or Ban Laing 250-119 BCE. i have examples of all the dynasties, but for now i'll just post these.

 

Wow, @Alegandron! Very nice.

I have a burning question about one of them... the Sui dynasty piece with the hanger (I also have one). Are these really Sui dynasty, and what's the evidence for this? Hartill lists them just before the Tang, but just as unknown North & South Dynasties. (He says only 10.26 belongs to the Sui.) I'd *really* like this to be provably Sui, since the Sui was essentially the first stage of the Tang.

BTW, for those (like me) who need to have some knowledge of the history to really like the coin, the History of China podcast is great, given how little we westerners tend to know about Chinese history.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-history-of-china/id741606139?mt=2

 

oops, i didn't put the pan/ban liang on my post..

 

very nice collections in the post of others.

 

I have about 300 Chinese cash coins that I mostly acquired 10+ years ago, but they are mostly catalogued by the outdated Schjoth system. I just bought a copy of Hartill, and plan to recatalogue and photograph when I get a chance, but for now here's my only spade coin: Warring States period, State of Liang (c. 350- 250 BC), purchased from a Steve Album auction:

 

A few of mine. Attribution is iffy...

China Sui Dynasty @589 - 618 AD



China Ch'ung Ning @1102 - 1106 AD



China North Sung Cheng Ho @1111 - 1117 AD



China Mongol Yuan Dynasty



Annam @1453 - 1460 AD

 

I purchased mine from Frank S Robinson, whom I trust. He described it as:

SUI DYNASTY 4 Zhu , Hartill; reportedly ex a Chinese museum. RARE, I never had any in my own collection: H13.53 but with hanger (like 13.57)

 

Sure! I'm glad you recognize some of the knives and spades.

So, where did you get those knives and spades? They are all fake.

I think that date is an educated guess based on the style. There were a lot of experimental coins during the very turbulent North and South Dynasties period, so he naturally assumed that they were from then. However, they have been discovered in Western Han tombs, meaning that they were made about 700-800 years prior to originally thought. If you want a coin from the Sui, then you will have to get a Wu Zhu with an hourglass "Wu" and a vertical bar to the left, like this one:

 

That's where I got mine too! (And a lot of my other Chinese.) I'm just wondering what the evidence is for Sui. I should ask Frank.

Thanks, @TypeCoin971793! Wow, that's a big difference (Western Han vs. Sui). I will look into this. I find the subtle differences in Wu Zhu a little underwhelming, and thus was hoping for something solidly and characteristically Sui.

 

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"Wow, @@Alegandron! Very nice.

I have a burning question about one of them... the Sui dynasty piece with the hanger (I also have one). Are these really Sui dynasty, and what's the evidence for this? Hartill lists them just before the Tang, but just as unknown North & South Dynasties. (He says only 10.26 belongs to the Sui.) I'd *really* like this to be provably Sui, since the Sui was essentially the first stage of the Tang.

BTW, for those (like me) who need to have some knowledge of the history to really like the coin, the History of China podcast is great, given how little we westerners tend to know about Chinese history.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-history-of-china/id741606139?mt=2
Click to expand...
I think that date is an educated guess based on the style. There were a lot of experimental coins during the very turbulent North and South Dynasties period, so he naturally assumed that they were from then. However, they have been discovered in Western Han tombs, meaning that they were made about 700-800 years prior to originally thought. If you want a coin from the Sui, then you will have to get a Wu Zhu with an hourglass "Wu" and a vertical bar to the left, like this one:"

So, in your opinion @TypeCoin971793 , what do you think mine is? Dates, attributes, etc? Sounds like this is a tough nut to crack...

 

Here are a couple that may no longer reside in my collection. I am unsure as to their authenticity, so I am going to take them to the Charlotte Coin Show next weekend. If a dealer thinks they're authentic, I am going to sell them to him/her so I can buy examples that I know are authentic.

"Wu" Hollow-Handle Spade

This is the most common HH spade that exists. If/when I do sell it, finding another won't be hard to find. I became suspicious of it after meeting with Bob Reis and studying his fakes. He couldn't say with certainty that this coin is genuine. Ken Bresset and many dealers said it was good though. But I'd rather have a coin that I was 100% sure about.




Pei Bi Dang Jin spade.

This coin is significantly scarcer. I already have an authentic specimen lined up after this one sells. It is half the weight it should be, and the characters have a bit of a weird form, but there is a lot of damage that is inconsistent with counterfeits (they wanted them to be as nice as possible). The patina is off and looks applied according to Roger Doo and Ken Bressett (and I agree), but Bob Reis said that the damage gave it plausible authenticity. The patina may have been reapplied to disguise a repair of the left leg. Several dealers said it was good, though.

Again, it could be genuine, but I'd rather have a coin I was 100% sure about.

 

The square Si Zhu with the handle?