Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Jin Chang Yuan - State of Liang
| Issuer | State of Liang |
|---|---|
| Year | 350 BC - 220 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Jin Liang |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Circular cast bronze disc with a central round perforation, bearing four archaic Chinese seal-script characters arranged around the hole in the field. The inscription reads 長垣一斤 (Chang Yuan Yi Jin), denoting the place name Chang Yuan and the weight denomination of one Jin. The characters are rendered in the angular, linear style typical of Warring States period bronze coinage, cast in relief against an otherwise unadorned, flat field. The surface displays a coarse, granular texture characteristic of sand-cast production, with extensive green and brown patination consistent with ancient burial. No rim decoration or border elements are present. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain, uninscribed reverse with a central round perforation mirroring the obverse. The flat field is entirely devoid of legend, decoration, or rim embellishment, presenting a smooth though heavily patinated surface exhibiting mottled green cuprite and brown oxide deposits accumulated over centuries. The casting seam and surface irregularities visible at the periphery are consistent with Warring States period sand-mould casting techniques. No marks, symbols, or secondary inscriptions are present. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Chang Yuan ("long garden") spade coinage of the Liang state circulated during the Warring States period, when dozens of competing polities issued their own bronze money with little pretense of interoperability. Each state's currency functioned as an instrument of fiscal control within its own territory — acceptance elsewhere was negotiated, not assumed. The Liang issues are among the more localized varieties, associated with the Wei state's capital region near modern Anyang.
Hartill 6.6 specifically identifies the place-name inscription as a distinguishing attribution point within a closely related cluster of hollow-handle spades.