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!
Ant-nose Money Ge Liu Zhu
| Issuer | Chu, State of |
|---|---|
| Year | 400 BC - 220 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Bronze |
| 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 | Chinese |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Uniface; the reverse is entirely blank and uninscribed, presenting a plain, slightly convex cast bronze surface with no design elements, legends, or decorative features. The surface exhibits a granular texture resulting from the sand-casting process and is covered with an even layer of dark green and brown patination consistent with prolonged burial. The irregular, natural contour of the oval planchet is visible along the periphery. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Ant-nose coins — named for the face-like scratches on their surface that resemble an insect's profile — were the primary small-denomination bronze currency of the Chu state throughout the Warring States period. Chu was the largest of the seven competing kingdoms by territory, stretching across much of the Yangtze basin, and its monetary tradition diverged sharply from the spade and knife money favored by northern rivals. The inscribed characters remain debated among scholars; the reading "Ge Liu Zhu" is one interpretation, with others proposing entirely different phonetic values.
Cast rather than struck, these pieces were produced in clay molds, often in strips that left witness marks at the seam.