• Chinese Coins
• Chinese Coins Meaning
• Chinese Coins In Feng Shui Coin Sword Good Luck Symbol And M...
• Chinese Coins With Holes In Them
• Chinese Coins 10

IDENTIFICATION GUIDE

The identification of Chinese cast coins can be difficult, even for those who can read the characters. For the rest of us it can be a very frustrating experience. The purpose of this part of our site is to make the process easier. This will be a work in progress for some time to come, as we add more types. Eventually it will be fairly comprehensive, at least for the types that you are likely to encounter. In the early stages of development, there will be many times that you will be told that the coin is not currently listed. Please bear with us as we build this site.

Chinese Coins

This site is very simple to use. In order to identify your coin we will need to get a little information from you. You will be presented with a sequence of choices. Just click on the one that best fits your coin. If we need more information, you will be presented with another selection of choices. When we have enough information to identify your coin, your final selection will take you to the part of our reference listing where your coin is catalogued.

BEGIN HERE

**Click on the general type that fits your coin.**

Chinese coins were manufactured by being cast in molds, whereas European coins were typically cut and hammered or, in later times, milled. Chinese coins were usually made from mixtures of metals such copper, tin and lead, from bronze, brass or iron: precious metals like gold and silver were uncommonly used. The ratios and purity of the coin. Coinage in China goes back some 2,500 years. The earliest Chinese coins were cast in bronze—by the 1st century BCE, these round coins featured square holes in their centers. This style persisted until about the 13th century, when silver and then brass coins were minted and circulated. The most commonly encountered Chinese cash date from the Ching Dynasty and have the Manchurian 'BOO' character on the reverse left hand side. This character only occurs on Ching Dynasty cash, so it it is present on the back of your coin, click here, or on the image, to go to a page that lists the Ching Dynasty obverse types.

If your coin does not match any of these general forms, it is probably not a true coin, and may be an amulet or other type of artifact. Please feel free to send us an E-Mail with a detailed description (or an image if possible), and we will try to help you find out what your item is.

Chinese Coins Meaning

Chinese Coins In Feng Shui Coin Sword Good Luck Symbol And M...

SPADE MONEY

Spade money is a complex subject, but there are only a few general forms into which most examples fall, the most common of which are currently listed (more will be added soon). Click on the form that is closest to your specimen to link to our general discussion of the varieties of that form.

If you have an example of a spade money type not currently listed on this site, please feel free to send us an E-Mail with a detailed description or image, and we will try to provide you with more information.

KNIFE MONEY

Knife money is less complex a subject than Spade money and most examples fall into just a few general forms, the most common of which are currently listed (more will be added soon). Click on the form that is closest to your specimen to link to our general discussion of the varieties of that form.

POINTED CURVED

STRAIGHT KNIFE

MING KNIFE

CHI KNIFE

WANG MANG TYPES

Chinese Coins With Holes In Them

If you have an example of a knife money type not currently listed on this site, please feel free to send us an E-Mail with a detailed description or image, and we will try to provide you with more information.

Chinese Coins 10

ROUND COINS

This part of the attribution guide is by far the most complicated as there are over a thousand types and it will be some time before we can include them all. We will be adding the most common types first, as they are the ones that most people will want to look up. If the type you are researching is not yet listed, and you can send us an image of it, we will be happy to try and identify it for you.

Round coins occur in three general types. 1) All with a round hole. 2) Square hole types with two characters. 3) Square hole types with four character types. Just click on the type that best fits your coin.

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