Asia

Chinese coins: from knife money to cash coins

China dominates the Asian coins, and the category spans more than two thousand years. The oldest pieces are pre-imperial forms of money: knife money from 400–220 BC, cast in the shape of small knives during the Warring States period, and so-called bridge money attributed to the Zhou dynasty.

Then comes the round coin with a square hole, the form Chinese coins kept for two thousand years. Unlike Western coins, these cash coins were cast in moulds rather than struck. The category includes a Ban Liang from the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Wu Zhu cash, introduced in 118 BC and used for centuries, and coins from Wang Mang’s short-lived Xin dynasty (9–23 AD), whose monetary reforms produced unusual types such as the Bu Quan and a 50 cash. From the Song dynasty (960–1279) there are coins of Emperor Huizong (1101–1125), whose elegant slender gold calligraphy appears on his coins, as well as a small collection of Song coins.

The last imperial dynasty, the Qing, is represented by 10 cash from 1875–1908 and machine-struck silver dragon coins of 10 and 20 cents from 1890–1908. From the Republic there is a dollar 1927, and from modern China a 10 yuan 1990 and a set of 5 yuan in its original case.

India: Mughal rupees and the East India Company

The Indian coins show how the rupee developed. A rupee of Sultan Islam Shah (1545–1552) of the Sur dynasty belongs to the period when the silver rupee was established, and a Mughal rupee from 1748–1754 shows the classic form with inscriptions in Persian instead of portraits. The British East India Company continued this tradition: the Bengal Presidency rupee 1776–1778 is in Mughal style, while the copper pice of the 1820s and the rupee of 1823 show the transition towards colonial coinage. A 5 kori 1936 comes from Kutch, one of the princely states with its own coinage.

Japan and Thailand

From Japan there is an oval 100 mon (Tenpō Tsūhō), cast from 1835 to 1870 in the late Edo period. Thailand is represented by 50 and 100 baht from 1974.

What should you look for in Asian coins?

For cast Chinese coins, legibility of the characters, an even patina and freedom from cracks matter most; old Chinese coins have been widely copied, so a reliable description is important. For struck silver such as the dragon coins and rupees, look at wear on the high points and an original surface. Each coin is described with its period, condition and catalogue reference.

See also Asian banknotes and coins from the Middle East.