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100 Wu Zhou - Liu Bei Shu
| Issuer | Shu, State of |
|---|---|
| Year | 214-221 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Cast bronze cash coin with a central square perforation surrounded by a raised square rim. Four Chinese seal-script ideograms are arranged in cruciform fashion around the central hole, reading top to bottom and right to left: 直百五銖 (Zhi Bai Wu Zhu), denoting a value of one hundred Wu Zhu. The characters are rendered in archaic clerical style within a plain raised border, typical of early Shu Han monetary production. The fields show characteristic casting texture with a broad outer rim encircling the entire design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese |
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| Additional information |
The Wu Zhu ("five grain") denomination had been the backbone of Han coinage for nearly four centuries before Liu Bei's Shu state revived it — not as continuity, but as a political claim. By casting Wu Zhus in Sichuan after seizing Yi Province in 214, Liu Bei was asserting legitimate succession to the Han dynasty at a moment when Cao Cao controlled the emperor and the northern mints. The coinage was a declaration as much as a currency.
Shu Wu Zhus are typically light and crudely cast relative to Eastern Han issues, a reflection of the limited bronze resources available in the Sichuan basin.