Coin of China - a special value for coin collector

The first coin of China appeared, according to some sources, in the eighth century BC. At that time, the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire used cowry shells as a means of money circulation . In addition, these decorative gifts of the sea served as decoration.

The oldest coin of China, which managed to find archaeologists, had the shape of a musical plate and was cast from bronze. As a rule, money and money were marked with money on such money. In each separate Chinese kingdom or udela there was a type of money circulation. Over time, the weight and size of such unusual money declined. Finally, in the first century BC. E. They outlived themselves. There was a classical coin of China, the shape of which is probably familiar to many - round, with a square hole in the middle.

Forms for casting money, used by the Chinese, were originally made of plates made from pressed sand. But such matrices were fragile and were not exploited for long. Therefore, they were replaced by limestone. Then a two-sided matrix appeared. One plate was neatly superimposed on the other, through special channels metal was poured into the vacuum formed. His surplus poured out.

Coins had holes for them, passing through them a rope, they could be connected. In this way it was very convenient to move a large amount of money. Often paid with whole bundles, not individual coins.

In the ancient Middle Kingdom, monetary reforms were not uncommon, for example, the withdrawal of all coins by representatives of the new dynasty from circulation. From past rulers got a motley heritage. Coins were of a variety of forms and denominations. And after their withdrawal, a single standard of money was introduced.

The Chinese coin was mostly cast from bronze. Iron money was used much less often, their cost was much lower. In addition, there were silver or gold ingots in the course. The composition of the bronze used for the production of money varied depending on the historical era. The greatest percentage of copper in it was accounted for during the reign of several dynasties - Wang Man, Ming, Tang. In the era of Sun, copper content in coins fell to 64%. In the Manchu Qing dynasty this mark dropped to 50%. This valuable metal is often not enough to produce coins. For this reason, one of the rulers forbade the export of money to other countries.

When the Celestial Empire was captured by the Mongols, the issue of coins was seriously reduced. In the course, paper assignments were made, which were made on orders from the rulers of the new Yuan dynasty. However, the usual bronze round coin of China with a rectangular hole in the middle did not come out of use. The inscriptions on such money were still made in the Han language.

The next conquerors, the Manchus, having captured the weakened by the constant uprisings of the Celestial Empire in 1644, reformed. They issued coins, signed in their language. The new money was not only bronze, but also silver. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the mints of the Celestial Empire were used to save copper, imported from Japan, using brass. Imported silver was also used in the form of Spanish pesos.

Modern coins of China are yuan, as well as jiao and feng. The latter are used very rarely, because their purchasing power is very low. Yuan consists of ten jiao, which, in turn, are divided into 10 fengs. The modern coins of China are not at all like their "leaky" bronze predecessors. The photo above gives an idea of them.