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!
2 Hua State of Yan
| Issuer | State of Yan |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 220 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| 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) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain and unadorned reverse, exhibiting a smooth, flat field with no inscription, legend, or decorative device. The central square perforation is clearly defined, with characteristic casting marks visible around its edges. The surface displays a uniform dark bronze patina consistent with ancient Chinese cast coinage of the Warring States period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The State of Yan occupied the northeastern corner of the Warring States world, centered around modern Hebei and Beijing, and remained something of a peripheral power until the late 4th century BC when it briefly rose to military prominence under King Zhao. Knife money of this type circulated within Yan's territory as a distinctly regional currency — the pointed-tip knife series is specific to Yan and stands apart from the Ming knives of neighboring states, a monetary boundary that tracked closely with political ones.
Hartill 6.21 places this within a well-documented but still debated typological sequence. The date range reflects ongoing scholarly disagreement about when Yan's knife coinage was finally suppressed following Qin's conquest of the region around 222 BC.