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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 2947328, member: 81887&quot;]I bought this from Frank Robinson&#039;s fixed-price list a while ago and am just getting around to posting it:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]719211[/ATTACH] </p><p>China, North and South Dynasties period (420-581 AD).&nbsp; AE 4 zhu (square 11 mm with &quot;hanger&quot;, no center hole).&nbsp; Obverse: Si Zhu (4 zhu).&nbsp; Reverse: Dong A (place name?).&nbsp; Cf. Hartill 13.55, Fisher&#039;s Ding 626 (but with center hole and without hanger).</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin is thought to come from the North and South Dynasties period, a time of political disunity in China when both northern and southern China were each ruled by a&nbsp; series of weak and short-lived dynasties.&nbsp; Large amounts of Si Zhu (4 zhu) coins were cast, but the quality was low, with poor casting and huge center holes.&nbsp; Another product of the time was a series of small square Si Zhu coins, sometimes with round (!) center holes and sometimes without, and occasionally with a &quot;hanger&quot; attachment like on this piece.&nbsp; A variety of reverse inscriptions are known, which are thought to be place names.&nbsp; Unfortunately, it is not known exactly when these coins were issued, and the place names are obscure, so there&#039;s not a lot else I can say about the history.</p><p><br /></p><p>Interestingly, this exact type is not listed in either Fisher&#039;s Ding or in Hartill&#039;s recent catalogue.&nbsp; The closest match is Hartill 13.55, FD 626, which matches the obverse and reverse inscriptions, but lacks the hanger and has a round center hole.&nbsp; Hartill 13.57 (FD 629) lacks center hole and has a hanger, like this piece, but the reverse inscription of that coin reads Ding Xiang.&nbsp; I bought it from Frank Robinson, trusting his belief that this is an authentic but unpublished variety.&nbsp; Post your related coins, or coins not listed in standard catalogues that you bought on a trusted dealers&#039; say-so.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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