The first coin of China appeared, according to some sources, back in the eighth century BC. At that time, the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom used kauri shells as a means of money circulation . In addition, these decorative gifts to the sea served as decoration.
The oldest
coin in China, which archaeologists managed to find, had the form of a musical plate and was cast in bronze. As a rule, on such money their value and weight were marked with hieroglyphs. Each individual Chinese kingdom or inheritance had its own type of money circulation means. Over time, the weight and size of such unusual money decreased. Finally, in the first century AD e. they have outlived themselves. A classic coin of China appeared, the shape of which is probably familiar to many - round, with a square hole in the middle.
The molds for casting money used by the Chinese were originally made from slabs made from pressed sand. But such matrices were fragile and were not used for long. Therefore, they were replaced by limestone. Then a two-sided matrix appeared. One plate was carefully superimposed on another, through special channels metal was poured into the formed vacuum. His excess poured out.
The coins had openings so that they could be tied through a rope through them. In this way, it was very convenient to move a large amount of money. Often paid in whole bundles, rather than individual coins.
In ancient China,
monetary reforms were not uncommon - for example, representatives of the new dynasty removed all coins from circulation. From past rulers inherited a motley heritage. Coins were of various shapes and names. And after their withdrawal, a single standard of money was introduced.
The coin of China was mostly cast from bronze. Iron money was used much less frequently, its value was significantly lower. In addition, silver or gold bars were used. The composition of the bronze used to make money changed depending on the historical era. The largest percentage of copper in it was during the reign of several dynasties - Wang Man, Ming, Tang. During the Sun era, the copper content in coins dropped to 64%. Under the Manchu Qing Dynasty, this mark dropped to 50%. This valuable metal was often not enough for the production of coins. For this reason, one of the rulers banned the export of money to other countries.
When the Celestial Empire was captured by the Mongols, the issue of coins was seriously reduced. Paper notes were issued, which were made by order of the rulers from the new Yuan dynasty. However, the familiar bronze round coin of China with a rectangular hole in the middle has not gone out of use. The inscriptions on such money were still made in the language of the Han.
The next conquerors, the Manchus, seized the Middle Kingdom, weakened by constant uprisings, in 1644, carried out a reform. 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 Middle Kingdom mints began to use brass to save copper imported from Japan. Imported silver in the form of Spanish pesos was also used.
The modern coins of China are the yuan, as well as jiao and fen. The latter are used very rarely, because their purchasing power is very low. The yuan consists of ten jiao, which, in turn, are divided into 10 fans. Modern coins of China are completely unlike their “leaky” bronze predecessors. The photo above gives an idea of them.