Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
The first round Ancient Chinese coins
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="TypeCoin971793, post: 2403802, member: 78244"]You all are probably familiar with the round-coin-with-square-hole style of Chinese cash coins. The square hole was adopted to ease the process of filing off the casting sprues as the coins would not rotate when slid onto a square peg. However, there is a type of round coin that predates these that has a round hole in the middle.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have read that this design was created to emulate jade rings that symbolize eternal life, in the same way spade coins and knife coins emulated spade and knife tools, respectively. The round hole served no real purpose other than to facilitate stringing the coins together. </p><p><br /></p><p>The inscription on the obverse says "Yuan," which was a city in the ancient state of Liang, not the monetary donomination. This variety is by far the most common, and all other types are incredibly hard to obtain. While I have no written provenance, I presume that it was one of 1180 "Yuan" coins unearthed from a 1981 hoard in the Henan province of Modern-Day China. Its patina matches several I have seen for sale, and you can see the imprint of another coin on the reverse, which shows that it was buried between other coins. (Usually the imprint of another coin on a coin in question is a sign of authenticity, but I have seen counterfeits that display this feature, though it looks more like a vice job than a transfer of patina.)</p><p><br /></p><p>The round-hole coins are a product exclusively from the states that produces spade coins during the Warring States period. During this era, there were two monetary systems in China, one based on spades and one based on knives. The two types circulated contemporarily, and there was little overlap, with the only exception coming to mind being the city of Lin. The coins with the square holes came from the states that used knives exclusively. However, as the kingdom of Qin grew in power (a spade state), they started casting coins with square holes known as Ban Liangs. These were produced in such industrial quantities that a square hole was needed to make an efficient filing process. But more on that later.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495721[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495722[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="TypeCoin971793, post: 2403802, member: 78244"]You all are probably familiar with the round-coin-with-square-hole style of Chinese cash coins. The square hole was adopted to ease the process of filing off the casting sprues as the coins would not rotate when slid onto a square peg. However, there is a type of round coin that predates these that has a round hole in the middle. I have read that this design was created to emulate jade rings that symbolize eternal life, in the same way spade coins and knife coins emulated spade and knife tools, respectively. The round hole served no real purpose other than to facilitate stringing the coins together. The inscription on the obverse says "Yuan," which was a city in the ancient state of Liang, not the monetary donomination. This variety is by far the most common, and all other types are incredibly hard to obtain. While I have no written provenance, I presume that it was one of 1180 "Yuan" coins unearthed from a 1981 hoard in the Henan province of Modern-Day China. Its patina matches several I have seen for sale, and you can see the imprint of another coin on the reverse, which shows that it was buried between other coins. (Usually the imprint of another coin on a coin in question is a sign of authenticity, but I have seen counterfeits that display this feature, though it looks more like a vice job than a transfer of patina.) The round-hole coins are a product exclusively from the states that produces spade coins during the Warring States period. During this era, there were two monetary systems in China, one based on spades and one based on knives. The two types circulated contemporarily, and there was little overlap, with the only exception coming to mind being the city of Lin. The coins with the square holes came from the states that used knives exclusively. However, as the kingdom of Qin grew in power (a spade state), they started casting coins with square holes known as Ban Liangs. These were produced in such industrial quantities that a square hole was needed to make an efficient filing process. But more on that later. [ATTACH=full]495721[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]495722[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
The first round Ancient Chinese coins
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...