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.
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.