The First Round Coins of China, 400 - 118 BC

This detailed study deals with the rich and beautiful early round coinage of China. The book catalogues the coins cast during the three centuries between the appearance of the uninscribed Huanqian bronze coins of Wei State in ca.400 BC and the introduction of Wu Zhus by the Western Han Emperor Wudi in 118 BC. The first half of this book covers the diverse and very popular archaic round coins of the many Warring States. The second half deals with one of the most famous ancient coins - the Ban Liangs of the Qin State, Qin dynasty and Western Han dynasty. Ban Liangs were first cast in the early 4th century BC by the Dukes of Qin State, with many hundreds of varieties cast through the Qin Imperial period (221-207 BC) and the Western Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 9). They were finally demonetized in 118 BC and replaced by the popular Wu Zhus. Immense numbers of coins were produced for over 250 years without any changes in the legend, so they can be identified only by size, weight and style. The study of Ban Liangs remains a very popular and active area of numismatic research, but this research is complicated and generally unavailable to non-Chinese speakers. The information given in this book is based on the most recent available data, and will hopefully provide a useful guide to English-speaking collectors and students of early Chinese coinage.