284 - 279 BC CHINA RARE GENUINE MING DENSITY BRONZE KNIFE MONEY COA

Description

ANCIENT CHINA -
ZHOU
(
CHOU
) DYNASTY (1045-256 BC)
KINGDOM OF
YAN
(11th CENTURY BC - 222 BC)
STATE OF
QI
or
QI MING
(1046 BC - 221 BC)
EARLY CAST BRONZE LARGE "KNIFE" MONEY
RARE
PRIMITIVE CURRENCY
KNIFE MONEY,
or "
HOU
"/"
TOU
" (MEANING: TO EXCHANGE IN TRADE or TO CHANGE),
REFERS TO THE SHAPE OF THE CAST BRONZE PROTO COIN WHICH RESEMBLES A KNIFE FROM THE PERIOD OF MANUFACTURE, CAST DURING THE ZENITH ERA OF CHINESE BRONZEMAKING DURING THE ZHOU DYNASTY, AND MARKING A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD IN ANCIENT CHINA BETWEEN A BARTER TO A MONETARY SYSTEM OF TRADE.  KNIFE MONEY HAS BEEN FOUND THROUGHOUT THE FORMER AREA OF THE FEODALITIES OF THE ZHOU DYNASTY.
"MING" (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE LATER
MING
DYNASTY)
KNIFE MONEY EXHIBITS A STRAIGHT EDGE AT THE TIP, A SLIGHT ANGLE IN THE CENTER AND THE ROUNDED END HOLED IN ORDER TO TIE MULTIPLE KNIVES TOGETHER TO BELTS OR RINGS FOR TRANSPORT OR STORAGE. ALONG THE
OBVERSE OF THE STRAIGHT BLADE IS A
CHARACTER COMMONLY TRANSLATED AS "MING".
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS PLACE THE ORIGIN OF THIS TYPE OF KNIFE MONEY IN THE REGION OF
BOSHAN
IN THE
SHANDONG
PENNINSULA, AT A TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM OF
YAN
OCCUPIED THE STATE OF
QI
OF WHICH THE CITY OF
MING
WAS A PART. ANOTHER MINT FOR THIS TYPE WAS FOUND AT THE ANCIENT CITY SITE OF
XIADU
, FORMER CAPITAL OF
YAN,
LOCATED SOUTHWEST OF BEIJING. THE GENERALLY ACCEPTED DATE FOR "
BOSHAN
//
MING
KNIVES" IS PLACED BETWEEN 284 - 279, WITH OTHE
R SOURCES DATING FROM AS EARLY AS 480/400 TO 225 BC.
AFTER THE CONQUEST OF CHINA BY THE FIRST EMPEROR, QIN SHI HUANGDI, IN 221 BC, THE MAKING OF KNIFE MONEY WAS FORBIDDEN AND REPLASHED BY ROUND HOLED CASH COINAGE.
CONTAINS 17.5 GRAMS OF BRONZE
135 MM IN LENGTH & 17 MM IN WIDTH