page_title: Ancient Chinese coinage
section_title: Flat-handled spade money
hierarchical_section_title: Ancient Chinese coinage / Pre-Imperial (770–220 BCE) / Spade money / Flat-handled spade money
caption_attribution_description: English: Scan of my own coin
context_page_description: Ancient Chinese coinage includes some of the earliest known coins. These coins, used as early as the Spring and Autumn period, took the form of imitations of the cowrie shells that were used in ceremonial exchanges. The Spring and Autumn period also saw the introduction of the first metal coins; however, they were not initially round, instead being either knife shaped or spade shaped. Round metal coins with a round, and then later square hole in the center were first introduced around 350 BCE. The beginning of the Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty to unify China, saw the introduction of a standardised coinage for the whole Empire. Subsequent dynasties produced variations on these round coins throughout the imperial period. At first the distribution of the coinage was limited to use around the capital city district, but by the beginning of the Han Dynasty, coins were widely used for such things as paying taxes, salaries and fines.
  Ancient Chinese coins are markedly different from their European counterparts. Chinese coins were manufactured by being cast in molds, whereas European coins were typically cut and hammered or, in later times, milled.
context_section_description: These have lost the hollow handle of the early spades. They nearly all have distinct legs, suggesting that their pattern was influenced by the pointed shoulder hollow handled spades, but had been further stylized for easy handling. They are generally smaller, and sometimes have denominations specified in their inscriptions as well as place names. This, together with such little evidence as can be gleaned from the dates of the establishment of some of the mint towns, show that they were a later development. Archaeological evidence dates them to the Warring States period (475–221 BC). Arched foot spades have an alloy consisting of about 80% copper; for other types the copper content varies between 40% and 70%.
  Arched foot spades: This type has an arched crutch, often like an inverted U. The shoulders can be rounded or angular. Denominations of half, one, or two jin are normally specified. They are associated with the State of Liang (also known as Wei) which flourished between 425 and 344 BCE, and the State of Han (403–230 BCE).
  Special spades of Liang: Similar in shape to the arched foot spades. Their inscriptions have been the subject of much debate. All are now agreed that these coins were issued by the State of Liang, and the inscriptions indicate a relationship between the jin weight of the coins, and the lie, another unit of weight or money.
  Pointed foot spades: This type has pointed feet, and a square crutch; the shoulders can be pointing upwards or straight. They are a clear descendant of the pointed shoulder hollow handled spade. The weight and size of the larger specimens is compatible with the one jin unit of the arched foot flat handled spades; smaller specimens sometimes specify the unit as one jin or more often as a half jin, but frequently do not specify a unit. This seems to imply that the half jin unit became the norm. They are associated with the State of Zhao, and their find spots are usually in Shanxi or Hebei provinces. They frequently have numerals on their reverses. The two character mint names mean that the cities that cast these coins can be identified with more certainty than those of earlier series.
  Square foot spades: This type has square feet, a square crutch, and a central line on the obverse. The reverses are normally only three lines, apart from on spades produced by some mints in the state of Zhao that also produced pointed foot spades. These have numerals on the reverse. The mints that produced square foot spades are more numerous than those that produced the pointed foot spades. Their weights are compatible with the half jin denomination. They are associated with the states of Han, Zhao, Liang, Zhou, and Yan. Their find spots include the provinces of Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Zhejiang. The type is no doubt contemporary with the pointed foot spades; some mints issued both types, and the two are found together in hoards.
  Sharp-cornered spades: These form a distinct sub-series of the square foot spades. They differ slightly from the normal type as they have small triangular projections on the handle. The inscriptions of the three larger types include the characters jin (Chinese: 金; pinyin: jīn) and nie (Chinese: 涅; pinyin: niè). While nie was the name of a river in Henan, the character cannot be readily construed as part of a place name, as it is found in conjunction with other place names such as Lu Shi and Yu. According to the Fang Yan (an ancient book on dialects), nie meant the same as hua (Chinese: 化; pinyin: huà), money or coin. Thus the characters jin nie mean "metal coin". The weights of the larger coins seem slightly higher than the 14 grams of the jin standard. Their find spots correspond with the states of Liang and Han.
  Dang Jin spades: These constitute another sub-group whose inscriptions suggest equivalence between the units of two trading areas. Both the small and large coins have a character jin (Chinese: 伒; pinyin: jìn) in their inscription. This is normally taken as being the same as the jin unit found on other flat h
caption: Square foot spade of An Yang
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