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500 Wu Zhou Wu
| Issuer | Wu, State of |
|---|---|
| Year | 222-280 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | 29.5 mm |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain reverse with a central square perforation surrounded by a smooth, undecorated field. The surface shows typical casting texture with areas of blue-green patination and minor surface irregularities consistent with ancient cast bronze manufacture. No inscriptions, symbols, or decorative elements are present. The raised inner and outer borders frame the blank field in the conventional fashion of Han and Three Kingdoms period cash coinage. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The State of Wu was the last of the Three Kingdoms to fall, holding out against Jin until 280 AD while the northern states had already collapsed. Wu coinage from this period is notable for its debasement trajectory — the 500-cash nominal value on these bronzes bore no relationship to their actual metal content, a fiscal fiction the Wu government sustained through increasingly thin issues as military pressure mounted from the north.
Schjoth 193 places this squarely among the larger-denomination issues the Wu court used to stretch its treasury.