THE  CURRENCY

I2I

Inscribed  Round  Coins

Inscribed  round  coins  came  in  about  the  seventh  century
B.C.,  the  earliest  known  specimens  being  inscribed  as  weighing ­
  i  liang  14  chu  or  i^-f  tael,  having  a  present-day  weight
of  171  grains  ;  while  others  are  inscribed  with  other  weights,
such  as  i^f-  liang,  or  with  the  place  of  issue  and  the  number
of  kin  or  hoes  they  stood  token  for.  The  earlier  round
hole  in  the  middle  (probably  a  reminiscence  of  the  armlets
and  rings)  soon  gave  place  to  the  square  hole  which  we
know  to-day,  and  from  the  end  of  the  Chow  Dynasty  {circa
B.c.  255)  the  coins  are  inscribed  “  Half  a  tael."  The  following ­
  are  the  approximate  dates  for  each  of  the  regular
shapes  of  coins  :—

Knife  money  b.c.
,,  ,,  thick  and  short  ..  a.d.
Spade  money  (consisting  of  little
hoes  with  hollow  handles)  ..  b.c.
Pu  money  (variant  of  Spade)  ..  b.c.
,,  ,,  small  and  thick  ..  a.d.
Round  coins,  with  round  holes  .  .  b.c.
,,  ,,  ,,  square  holes  from  b.c.

670-221
7-10
600-350
475-221
10-14
660-336
221.

China  has  had  a  copper  coinage  for  twenty-five  centuries
and  a  coinage  of  the  shape  we  know  to-day  uninterruptedly
for  twenty-one  centuries.
The  issues  of  half-tael  coins  must  have  been  very  large,
since  they  are  in  our  time  by  no  means  uncommon  in  the
trays  o  the  petty  hucksters  who  are  found  on  every  street
oi  every  city  of  the  Empire.  In  course  of  time  they  degenerated ­
  in  size  and  weight,  and  (b.c.  118)  were  replaced  by  the
coins  inscribed  in  seal  character  “  Five  chu  "  (*  tael),  which
emamed  in  circulation,  side  by  side  with  all  other  issues,
to-fl U ^ W ^ rC ^ S  °*  7 00  years.  This  coin,  also  easily  obtainable
to-dí^'fS  beautifull y  cast,  0-95  inch  *  in  diameter,  weighing
all  iJ  T  46  t0  51  § rains -  Corns  with  other  inscriptions,
sea  character  and  none  of  them  dynastic,  were  issued

*  Here  and  later  the  English  inch.