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!
100 Cash - Ding Ping Shu
| Issuer | Shu, State of |
|---|---|
| Year | 221-265 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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) | FD#556, Hartill#11.27 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain reverse field surrounding the central square perforation, enclosed by a raised inner square rim and an outer circular rim. No inscriptions, symbols, or decorative elements are present. The surface displays a uniform dark brown patina with slight granularity consistent with sand-cast production and long-term burial. |
| 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 State of Shu, the smallest and most resource-constrained of the Three Kingdoms, debased its bronze coinage aggressively to finance its near-constant military campaigns — most famously Zhuge Liang's five northern expeditions against Wei. The Ding Ping Shu series represents the extreme end of that debasement: a coin nominally valued at 100 cash but weighing less than a gram, making the face value fiction backed by nothing but state coercion.
Hartill documents considerable variation in fabric and calligraphic style across this type, likely reflecting multiple casting runs from different foundries under wartime pressure.