Three Character Knife Money, China, 5th-1st century BCE
date: label: date made
content: 5th - 1st century BCE
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: One (1) Three Character knife money
label: Description (Brief)
content: China, 5th-1st century BCE
label: Description
content: Many communities have designed money in the shape of objects that are important to them, such as tools and weapons. They usually do not make them sharp, though. They were only supposed to be used to make payments.
label: Description
content: This piece of money shaped like a knife was used in China for a wide range of purchases. It is more than 2,000 years old, making it one of the first coins in world history.
place: label: place made
content: China
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: East Asian Coins
label: Exhibition
content: Really BIG Money
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Howard F. Bowker Family
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2017.0116.046
label: accession number
content: 2017.0116
label: catalog number
content: 2017.0116.046
objectType: label: Object Name
content: knife money
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: bronze (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 186 mm x 40 mm x 4 mm; 7 5/16 in x 1 9/16 in x 5/32 in