1/2 Jin State of Han, Qi Bei

The Qi Bei ("unusual back") designation distinguishes this spade money by an anomalous reverse inscription that remains only partially understood — numismatists continue to debate whether such markings indicate a specific issuing town, a weight guarantee, or a secondary mint control mark. The Han state occupied a landlocked position in the central Yellow River basin, and its bronze currency circulated in direct competition with Zhao and Wei issues of near-identical form, making attribution reliant almost entirely on these reverse details.