Ant-nose Money "Ghost face" type; line below

Ant-nose money (蚁鼻钱) takes its name from the abstract facial impression cast into the face of each piece — "ghost face" distinguishing this variety from the more common "ant-nose" type by the specific character rendered. The line below the main motif on this type is the detail that separates Hartill 1.4 from adjacent varieties, and collectors have argued for decades whether these distinctions reflect different issuing towns within Chu or simply different casting periods at the same location.

Chu's bronze cowrie surrogates circulated across the largest territorial state of the Warring States period, a polity that at its height controlled much of the Yangtze basin. They were cast in clay molds, not struck.