1 Hua / 1 Dao State of Yan

Yan was the northernmost of the Warring States, pressed against the steppe frontier and perpetually under threat from both neighboring polities and nomadic incursions. The knife money tradition it shared with Qi took a distinctly regional form — Yan knives are generally smaller and lighter than their Qi counterparts, a distinction that likely reflects local bronze availability rather than deliberate monetary policy. The state was extinguished in 222 BC when Qin forces took the capital Ji, making this among the last issues before the enforced monetary unification under the First Emperor.