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Qi knife An Yang Zhi Fa Hua
| Issuer | Qi, State of |
|---|---|
| Year | 401 BC - 220 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Bronze |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese |
| Obverse lettering | 安 陽 之 法 貨 (Translation: An Yang Zhi Fa Hua An Yang's legal money) |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The knife money of Qi was produced across a remarkably long span of the Warring States period, a time when the Zhou monetary system had effectively collapsed and individual states minted their own currencies with no central coordination. Qi's knife coinage circulated alongside spade money from rival states, and the two forms almost never overlapped geographically — a clean reflection of how hard political boundaries had become by the fourth century BC.
The inscription referencing An Yang ties this piece to a specific controlled mint location, a practice Qi used to regulate output and authenticate currency against counterfeits — a persistent problem across all Warring States bronze coinage.