page_title: Zhou dynasty coinage
section_title: Other coinages
hierarchical_section_title: Zhou dynasty coinage / Other coinages
caption_attribution_description: English: OTHER EARLY MONEY FORMS &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; ca. 400 - 220 BC &#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Cowrie shells (Cyprea moneta &amp; Cyprea anullis) made the transition from adornment to money during the change from Yin to Chou dynasties ca. 1150 B, according to P'eng Xinwei. The I pi, ant nose, or imitation cowrie monies of Chu State were used from the 8th-3rd c. BC, thus contemporary with the oldest knife and spade monies. Apparently they were controversial in Schjoth's day as he did not include them in his coinage section. Halberd money, also known as Ko money, Ge, or Je, is a small, fragile imitation of a weapon combining an ax with a spear, used in.Wu State during Spring &amp; Autumn Annal (c.526-476 BC). Although only recently discovered, they are widely accepted by Chinese archaeologists as money due to an apparent size/denominational structure, and where they are placed in burials. Bridge Money have now been dated to c. 306-221BC and are accepted by many - but not all - Chinese numismatists as actual coins of Ba and Shu States. &#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;H 5 . 1 &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Gold Block &#160;&#160;&#160; "Ying YŸan" Issued by Ying (Capital city of Chu Kingdom). 21.7mm x16.1mm, 18.297gm &#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;H 5 . 20 &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Bridge Money &#160;&#160;&#160; a.k.a. Ch'ing or Tingle-tangle. Variety: Looped, with design. Design of straight lines, Provenance: ex-Kobayagawa/DuBois, 1912 116mm, 7.45gm &#160;&#160;&#160; C6681v Provenance: Jun Kobayagawa Co. (Japan) via W.M. DuBois collection, 1912
context_page_description: Chinese coinage during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods includes some of the earliest coins produced in the world. However, they were mostly not the typical round shape of modern coins. They included cowrie shells, ant nose money, spade-shaped money and knife-shaped money.
context_section_description: There were other coinages where no contemporary historical sources mentions them. For this reason the validity of these objects as a form of currency is called into question. Because it is unknown if they were or weren't forms of ancient Chinese money, they are usually referred to as "pseudo money" or "odd shaped money" (simplified Chinese: 异形币; traditional Chinese: 異形幣; pinyin: yì xíng bì). 
  These currency are often named based on their shape, for example there is "fish money" (魚幣), "halberd money" (戟幣), and "bridge money" (橋幣). Some specimens of "bridge money" are further subdivided into more categories such as "tiger head bridge money" and "dragon head bridge money" based on their shape.
caption: An example of Zhou dynasty era "bridge money".
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