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Ant-nose Money 'Ghost face' type, with upper line
| Issuer | Chu, State of |
|---|---|
| Year | 400 BC - 220 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Hartill#1.5 |
| Obverse description | Cast bronze uniface piece of oval, cowrie-shell form bearing a single archaic Chinese ideogram in raised relief centrally positioned within the field. The character 貝 (Bei, meaning 'shell') is rendered in a highly stylized, primitive script evoking a face-like configuration—commonly referred to as the 'ghost face' type—with curvilinear strokes suggesting eyes, nose, and mouth. A short horizontal line appears at the upper portion of the character, distinguishing this variety (Hartill 1.5) from related sub-types. The surface exhibits characteristic green and brown patination consistent with long burial, and the flan retains the irregular, hand-formed edges typical of cast Warring States currency derived from natural cowrie shell prototypes. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Ant-nose money — named by Western collectors for a fancied resemblance to an insect's face — circulated in the Chu state during the Warring States period, when no unified coinage standard existed across the Chinese territories. Chu's bronze spade and knife coins from neighboring states did not circulate here; Chu maintained its own monetary tradition entirely. The "ghost face" type designation reflects a Chinese interpretive tradition, reading the cast markings as a stylized character, though scholars still dispute whether the impressions are purely decorative, abbreviated script, or value indicators. The upper line variant distinguishes this from closely related types in the Hartill sequence.