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Qi knife Ji Mo Fa Hua
| Issuer | Qi, State of |
|---|---|
| Year | 401 BC - 220 BC |
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| Currency | Knife money (401-220 BC) |
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| Obverse description | Cast bronze knife money of the Warring States-period State of Qi, featuring a long, slightly curved blade tapering toward the tip and broadening toward the handle, with a circular ring terminal at the base. The obverse face bears four archaic Chinese characters incised in the field reading 節墨法化 (Ji Mo Fa Hua), meaning 'Jimo legal money,' referencing the city of Jimo as the issuing authority. The characters are arranged vertically along the blade in the angular, stylised script typical of Qi State coinage. The surface displays the characteristic flat, unadorned finish of Eastern Zhou cast currency. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3 g: 力 (Jiu; nine) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3a: 一 (Yi; one) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3am: 大 or 六 (Da or Liu; ? or six) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3an: Uncertain ideogram (vertical line with down-facing right hook) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3ao: Uncertain ideogram (two slanting lines coming together with lines at top) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3ar: 法昌 (Fa Chang) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3b: 二 (Er; two) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3c: 三 (San; three) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3e: 七 (Qi; seven) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3f: 八 (Ba; eight) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3h: 十 (Shi; ten) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3i: 卜 (Bu) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3j: 工 (Gong) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3k: 上 (Shang) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3l: 土 or 士 (Tu or Shi) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3m: 屮 (Che) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3o: 化 (Hua) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3s: 日 (Ri; a rectangle or circle) - ND (401 BC - 220 BC) - Hartill#4.3u: 可 or 司 (Ke or Si) - |
| Additional information |
Ji Mo was one of the most strategically important cities in the Qi state — it was among the handful of fortified towns that held out during the devastating Yan invasion of 284 BC, when the general Yue Yi swept through Qi and captured over seventy cities in a matter of months. The fact that Ji Mo never fell gave Tian Dan the base he needed to mount his eventual counteroffensive and restore Qi rule.
The "Fa Hua" inscription indicates officially sanctioned casting, distinguishing these knives from locally produced imitations that circulated alongside them.