Comprehensive information on knife coins

The knife coin is one of the bronze coins of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Its shape evolved from farm tools, hand tools and daily utensils - knives in the Spring and Autumn Period. There are different types. According to their characters or shapes, there are Qi Dao, Jimo Dao, Anyang Dao, Tanbang Dao, Zhenshou Dao, Yanshou Dao, Ming Dao, Pingshou Dao, straight knife, etc. It was mainly circulated in Qi, Yan, Zhao and other countries during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Qidao is the currency of Qi State. There are three-character swords, four-character swords and six-character swords with the word "Qi" on the coin surface. The three-character knife is "Qifahua (goods)". The four-character sword is "the legalization of Qi". The six-character sword is "Qi Zaobang Chang Fa Hua". "Qi" refers to Linzi, the capital of Qi State. The coins without the word "Qi" include Jimo Dao, Anyang Dao and Tanbang Dao. Basic introduction Chinese name: Knife Coin Collection Location: No. 301, Fuxing Middle Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai Era: Zhou Affiliated Museum: Shanghai Bank Museum Area: Shanghai Introduction, history, overview of knife coins in various countries, Qi State Knife Coins, Yan Guo Knife coins, Zhao Guodao coins, Qi knives, Qi Ming knives, Yan knives, development history, pointed-head knives, Ming knives, round folding knives, chime folding knives, types of knife coins, unearthed knife coins, historical value, existing quantity, culture Value, brief introduction, name explanation, knife currency popular in Yan, Qi, Zhao and Zhongshan from the late Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period. The types are: 1. Mingzi Dao, Jian-Shou Dao, and Needle-Shou Dao from Yan State; 2. Three-Character Dao (Qi Fahua Dao), Four-Zi Zi Dao (Qi Zhifa Hua Dao), and Five-Zi Zi Dao from Qi State (Anyang's Fahua and Jimo's Fahua knives), Liuzi Dao (Qi Jianbang's Fahua knives), and Qiming knives, Boshan knives, etc.; 3. Zhao's Gandan knives, Baibai knives, and Baibai knives Huadao, Baihuadao, Wanghuadao, etc.; 4. Zhongshan Kingdom's Chengbai straight sword and Baibai straight sword, etc. 5. The coins minted by Wang Mang in the new dynasty contained gold-wrapped knives. Scope of use Qi State in the east and Yan State in the north mainly use knife coins. Knife coins are divided into two types: "Yanming Dao" and "Qi Daohua". The shape of the knife coin is similar to the knife tools used by northern nomads such as Shanrong and Beidi for fishing and hunting. Because there is the word "hua" on the Qidao surface, it is called "Daohua". The shape of the knife is divided into arc back, folded back and straight back. The head of the knife can be divided into flat head and pointed head. It is also an early bronze coinage in my country. Components The knife coin is composed of the knife head, blade body, knife handle and knife ring. The knife head is the main basis for classifying the types of knife coins. According to the shape, it can be divided into needle-head knife, pointed-head knife, cut-head knife, round-head knife and flat-head knife. According to the back of the knife, it can be divided into chime-folding knives and curved-back knives. History The official name of "Knife Coin" is "Knife (goods) Knife Coin", which consists of four parts: knife head, blade body, knife handle and knife ring. The edge of the knife is contoured, the blade is not outward, facing left instead of right. The back is concave and the blade is convex. The head of the knife is close to a triglyph. The blade and handle are two rectangles of similar size. The ring is round. These geometric shapes are cleverly combined to form a stable, plump and round image beauty and harmonious beauty. According to actual measurements, the diameter of the knife ring and the length of the knife head are 1:7.5, which is exactly the ratio of a person's head and height. The length of the entire "knife coin" (usually about 18 centimeters) is almost the length of a human hand. If 6 sword coins are connected end to end, they can form a ring. This is what is mentioned in "Zhou Li Kao Gong Ji" It is said that "Zhu's style is cut, long and wide, and combined with six sides to form a rule." These precise designs and ingenious conceptions fully reflect the ingenuity of the ancient working people. Later, with the expansion of Qi's territory and war with neighboring countries, the circulation scope of Qi's sword coins gradually expanded to the Yan and Zhao regions. At this time, the sword coins formed three series: "Qi Dao", "Yan Dao" and "Zhao Dao" due to different casting places and different shapes. Overview of knife coins in various countries. In ancient China, copper coins were cast in the shape of a ring-headed knife and were one of the copper coins of the Warring States Period. "Guanzi", "Dishu" and "Kudu" mentioned "knife cloth" and "knife coin", which all refer to copper coins. During the Warring States Period, Qi, Yan, Zhao and other countries all minted sword coins. The sword coins of Qi are about 17 centimeters in height and weigh about 40 to 55 grams. They are the largest among the sword coins of various countries. There are also a few that are smaller in size. The handle of the knife is slightly curved, and there are inscriptions on the front of the blade such as "Qi Fa Hua", "Qi Zhi Fa Hua", "Anyang Zhi Fa Hua", "Jie Mo Zhi Fa Hua", and "Qi Chu Bang Chang Fa Hua". . Modern people may interpret "fahua" as "big sword". The Qidao Qian inscription handed down from ancient times is as long as nine characters, which seems to be a forgery. "Anyang" and "Jiemo" are both the names of cities in Qi State. "Anyang" is not found in literature records, and "Jiemo" refers to Jimo, which is located in Pingdu, Shandong today.

There are three horizontal lines on the upper part of the back of the knife. There are usually one or two characters below the lines. Common ones include "Shang", "Gong", "Gan", "Da", "Anbang", etc., which may be the marks made by the caster. . The Qi Dao is made of copper and the casters are relatively good. After testing, the copper content was about 70%, and the rest was lead and tin. There are many physical objects left by Qidao, most of which were unearthed south of the Yellow River and east of the Beijing-Shanghai Line in present-day Shandong Province, including present-day Jinan, Zibo, Weifang, Changyi, Yexian, Fushan, Rongcheng, Haiyang, Pingdu, Qingdao, Zhucheng, Rizhao, Yinan, Junan, Yanzhou, Pingyuan and other places. There are two types of casting molds for Qidao: clay and stone, with mud molds being the most common. There are thousands of clay models collected by Chen Jieqi in the Qing Dynasty. In recent decades, many discoveries have been made in the ruins of Qicheng in present-day Linzi. The molds are made of sand and mud, and three molds are printed on each mold. Three molds can be cast at one time. However, only one type of "Qifahua" has been found in all the clay models, and the rest have not yet been discovered. Knife Coins Yan State Knife Coins often have the word "Ming" cast on them, so this kind of knife is commonly known as Ming Dao. It is lighter and smaller than Qi Dao, with a height of about 13 to 14 centimeters. The early shape is larger, the back of the blade is slightly curved, the blade is wide and narrow at the bottom, about 14 cm in height, and weighs about 13 grams. The characters for "Ming" are "仈" and "仌", and the inscriptions on the back are mostly one character; the middle-stage shape Slightly smaller than the early ones, the word "Ming" is written as "佽"; the late blade has the same width from top to bottom, the back of the blade is straight, the handle is obviously bent inward, the weight of the sword is reduced to about 10 grams, and the word "Ming" is written as "debt". Some people Misinterpreted as "彽" or "易". The memorization of the middle and late periods generally has a larger number of words, often with numbers under "left" or "middle" or "right". The casting technology of Ming Dao is slightly inferior to Qi Dao, especially the copper content is significantly lower than that of Qi Dao. Generally, the copper content is only 35-45%, and sometimes the lead and tin content is as high as 45-58%. This may be different from that of Yan and Qi Dao. related to different levels of economic development. In the ruins of Yanxiadu in Yi County, Hebei Province, the remains of a coin-making workshop were discovered. In addition to the unearthed Ming knives, there were also many clay models. The models were rectangular, with five models arranged side by side on one model. Stone casting molds were also found in Chengde, Hebei Province. It can be seen that there were more than one kinds of casting molds at that time, and the casting sites were not only in Yanxiadu. Ming Dao is one of the sword coins issued in the Warring States period with the largest number. It is often unearthed, and sometimes hundreds or thousands of pieces are unearthed at one time. The areas with more unearthed artifacts are in present-day Hebei Province, Liaoning Province, Beijing City and Tianjin City. In addition, such knife coins have also been unearthed in central and northern Shanxi, eastern and southern Inner Mongolia, Ji'an and Naiman Banners in Jilin Province, and Linzi, Changyi, and Pingdu in Shandong Province. These phenomena show that the circulation scope of Ming Dao is not limited to Yan State, but can even be circulated in Zhao, Qi and other countries. Most of the Mingdao unearthed now come from cellars, and a few are found in tombs. Among the knife coins there is also a pointed knife, which seems to be a currency of Yan State. This kind of knife is about 16 centimeters tall and weighs 11 to 15 grams. From the back of the knife to the handle, an arc-shaped line is formed. The handle is thin and the head of the knife is pointed, so it is commonly known as the pointed-head knife. The tip of some knives is as long as a cone, commonly known as needle-head knives. The characteristic of these two types of knives is that they do not have certain inscriptions on the face, and some even have no words. Qian inscriptions generally have only one word, such as "王", "工", "五", "上刀", etc. These words may be marks. The areas where this kind of knife was unearthed are mainly in the northern and central areas of present-day Hebei Province, including Zhangjiakou, Baoding, Yixian, Xushui, Anguo, Hejian, Lingshou, Gaocheng, Shijiazhuang and other places. They have also been unearthed in areas such as Lingyuan in Liaoning Province in the north and Linzi in Shandong Province in the south. Judging from the locations where they were unearthed, most of them are within the territory of Yan State. It can be seen that the knife is more likely to be a Yan coin. Sometimes this knife was produced together with the Ming Dao, but the number was very small. Perhaps it was a Yan coin that was earlier than the Ming Dao. When the Ming Dao was used in large numbers, there were already very few of this type of knife. In the Zhaoyuan and Shouguang areas of Shandong Province, some sharp-headed knives with the heads cut off have been unearthed in the past. The purpose of these knives is still unclear. Zhao Guo's sword coins are small in shape, with a height of about 13 to 14 centimeters and a weight of about 5 to 15 grams. The blade and the head of the knife are rounded, which is very different from the sharp corners on the heads of Qi and Yan knives. The handle and body of the knife are close to vertical. There are inscriptions such as "Handan", "White Man" and "Chengbai" on the front of the knife. Handan was the capital of Zhao, and the "white people" were Bai people and the land of Zhao. From this, it can be determined that this type of knife is the currency of Zhao State. Zhao Dao was mostly unearthed in places such as Lingshou, Shijiazhuang, Handan, Xushui, Yixian, Luanping and Beijing in present-day Hebei. In addition, they have also been unearthed in northern Shanxi and Liaoning Province in southern Inner Mongolia. From the location where it was found, it can be seen that the Zhao Dao was also commonly used in the Yan State, and was often found with the late Ming Dao or Yi Dao Yuan Qian, indicating that its popularity was in the late Warring States Period. A fragment of a stone casting model of a Chengbai sword was unearthed in Lingshou, Hebei Province, which provides clues to the casting area of ​​some Zhao swords.

Among the Zhao knives, there is an even smaller one, with a total height of only 11 centimeters and a blade width of only 1 centimeter. There is the word "锺" on the front, which is believed to have been made in Lin (now Lishi, Shanxi Province). There is also a smaller Yanyang knife than the Lin knife, with a height of only 9.5 centimeters, and the inscription on the face is "Yanyang New Sword". The word "Yan" was often mistaken for the word "Jin" by ancient people. "Yanyang" is suspected to be Jianyang in Xihe County during the Western Han Dynasty. It belonged to Wei in the early Warring States period and later belonged to Zhao. The shape of this knife is similar to that of Lin Dao, and it is suspected that it was made in the state of Zhao. The above two types of knives are extremely rare. Qi Dao Qi Dao was cast in Qi State and mainly circulated in Qi State, which is today's Shandong Peninsula. Qi Dao is relatively thick and famous for its thickness and exquisiteness. Its basic shape is a pointed head, curved back, and concave blade. There is a ring at the end of the knife, and there are characters or decorations on the surface and back. Qi Dao is divided into "three-character sword", "four-character sword", "five-character sword" and "six-character sword". The Qi swords that have been discovered and recorded so far include "Qifahua" and "Qifahua" , "Anyang's legalization", "Jiemo's legalization", "Jianbang's legalization", "Qijian (Zhao) State Chief's legalization" and several others. Among them, "Jiemo", "Anyang" and "Qi" are all place names. "Jiemo" refers to Jimo, Shandong Province today, "Anyang" refers to the area around Caoxian County, Shandong Province, and "Qi" refers to Linzi, the capital of Qi State. According to actual measurements: Qi's method is generally 18.3-18.5 cm long, 2.87 cm wide, and weighs 44.5-50.5 grams; Jiemo's method is generally 18.5 cm long, 2.8-3 cm wide, and weighs 59-61 grams; Anyang's method The length is 18-18.5 cm, the widest is 2.8-2.9 cm, and the weight is 44.5-47 grams; the length of Qi Jian (Zhao) State is about 18.2-18.5 cm, the width is 2.6-2.9 cm, and the weight is 42.3-47 grams; Qi Fa is They are about 17.8-18.7 cm long, 2.6-2.9 cm wide, and weigh 40.8-50.4 grams. The latter two are sword coins minted by Tian Qi in the Warring States Period. They are characterized by the fact that the outer edges of the sword coins are continuous and there is no "Zhi" in the characters on the coin surface. The word is just "legalization". The six-character sword was the Fahua of the Governor of Qi Jian (Zhao). It is said that it was a commemorative coin at that time. It was rarely handed down and was very precious. Between 378 and 324 BC, that is, during the period from King Wei of Qi to King Xuan of Qi, the State of Qi unified various sword coins with Qi Fahua. Knife Coin Qi is the main country that uses knife coins. Qi's sword coins have vivid characters and exquisite production. There are mainly "Qi Zaobang Chang Fa Hua", "Jimo Zhi Fa Hua", "Qi Fa Hua" and "Qi Ming Dao". The Qi Zaobang Changfa Hua, also known as the Six-Character Sword, was cast in the late Spring and Autumn Period when the Tian family was on behalf of Jiang Qi and was granted the title of Marquis of Qi. This sword is elegant in shape, well-made, and rare in the world. It has been used by all dynasties. Collectors value. Qiming knife is named after the word "ming" on the blade. The inscription on the back is "Juye Qihua" and other words, which are very rare. It was cast during the five years when Yan general Le Yi conquered Qi and occupied more than 70 cities including Linzi. This knife was first discovered in Boshan, Shandong during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, so it is also called the "Boshan knife". Qiming Dao is also called Boshan Dao. It was first discovered in Boshan, Shandong, so it is commonly called Boshan Dao. Boshan is the name of an old county located in central Shandong. It was revoked in 1958 and merged into Zibo City. Examining the source of the Boshan knife, "Jinshisuo" records that "Boshan knives were made by Sun Xingfang. Hundreds of them were dug out of a cellar in Xingyu Village, Yunbo Mountain, but the text cannot be identified." Also, "This knife and the previous knife came out of the same cellar. Although Fang also carried it from Boshan." This knife coin was unearthed in Qi, and its coin inscriptions have the characters "Ming" (or "Zhao", "Yi", etc.) on the coin, so today people often call it "Qi Ming Dao". Characteristics of the Qi Ming Dao: The blade is thinner and narrower than the Yanming Dao. The outer pen of the seal character "Ming" is long and folded in a square shape, which is different from the Yanming Dao's curved shape. There are more than ten kinds of scripts with different numbers of characters in the knife-back script, such as Qi, Qihua, Qihua**jin, Juyehua, Juyeqihua, etc. Most of them have plain backs or symbols. This knife coin is coarsely minted, with a slightly lower copper content and a slightly higher lead content, and there are also lead coins. This sword is from both Qi and Yan, and must have been coined during the Pre-Qin and Warring States periods. The author would like to analyze its background, attribution and other issues as follows. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, as various princes competed for hegemony over the world, each governed its own affairs and minted its own currency, forming a special era with the most forms in the history of currency in our country, and the four major currency systems of shells, cloth, knives and yuan coins were produced. Qi Ming knives were cast relatively late and are also one of the knife and coin systems. Knife coins evolved from tool sharpeners, including large and small pointed-head knives, large and small needle-headed knives, head-cutting knives, small pointed knives, small straight knives, large and small round-headed knives, Yanming knives, Qiming knives, Qi large knives, etc. kind. These knife coins have become the main currency of various countries (nationalities) in northern and eastern my country. Tribes such as Xianyu, Zhongshan, Yan, Qi, Zhao and Shanrong have minted and used sword coins. Under what background was Qiming Dao formed? In 314 BC, King Kuai of Yan abdicated the throne to the Prime Minister Zi Zhi and civil strife broke out for three years. King Xuan of Qi took the opportunity to attack Yan. Kuai and Zi Zhi were killed, and Yan was almost destroyed.

In 311 BC, Prince Zhao came to the throne. According to "King Zhao of Yan Seeking Scholars", he "humbled his body and paid generously to recruit wise men." After 28 years of hard work, Yan restored the country and in 284 BC, he ordered Le Yi to lead the army to attack Qi for more than 70 years. The city "entered Linzi (the capital of Qi), took all the treasures of Qi, burned its palaces and ancestral temples, and the only ones who could not defeat Qi's city were Ju (now Ju County, Shandong) and Jimo (southeast of today's Pingdu County, Shandong)." Qi also almost arrived perish. In 279 BC, King Zhao died and King Hui of Yan came to the throne. In order to alienate Qi, they abandoned Le Yi and used Qi Jie as their general. They set up a fire ox formation to defeat Yan and regain all the lost territory. The Qi Ming Dao lasted from the beginning of Yan's conquest of Qi in 284 BC to the end of Qi's defeat of Yan in 279 BC. Why does Qi Ming Dao have a short service life? The reasons are: 1. The people are unwilling to use Qi Yan's national currency. Tug-of-war was a common thing in the Warring States Period. When the victorious nation arrived today, the people used Yan coins, and when Yan retreated, they used Qi coins. The Yan coins were worthless and risky, so people had rebellious and repulsive psychology and behaviors; 2. A victorious country needs social stability. The war between the Qi and Yan armies will inevitably cause the currencies of the two countries to be mutually exclusive. Faced with the rejection of the people, the victorious country needs a "compromise" currency to clear the circulation channels; 3. Businessmen cater to the military and public opinion. Local businessmen seized the business opportunities and minted coins quickly and at low cost to meet social needs. When they were used, they could withdraw. Let's look at the characteristics of the back text. First, it is cast that Yan occupied the territory such as Qi, Qihua, etc., and then it is cast that Qi, Jucheng, and Juyehua can advance or retreat. Small exclusivity, high recognition, and the old ways are common; 4. Complete the mission and die naturally. Sui Qi regained the lost territory, stabilized the regime, and the national currency excluded the free commercial currency. This was the war that determined the short life of this coin, and it was also the original historical value of this coin. The development history of Yan Dao. Dao coins entered the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, expanding its scope. First, the "Jian Shou Dao" (including the "Zhen Shou Dao") appeared in the territory of Yan State. The appearance of sword coins in Yan should be influenced by Qi State. King Yan Zhao was very capable of accepting talents. During his reign, he expanded his territory and established Shanggu, Yuyang, Liaoxi and Liaodong counties. There are "Zhen Shou Dao", "Jian Shou Dao" and "Ming Dao" cast in Yan State. The blade of the Needle Shou Knife (the blade is spiked) is similar to the Jian Shou Knife, but the tip is longer and the handle has straight lines, two on the front and one on the back. The copper is not refined, the production is rough, and the writing is simple. Some may have no writing, but they are mainly circulated inside and outside the Great Wall, so they are also called "Xiongnu swords". "Xiongnu swords" were unearthed in Chengde and Zhangjiakou areas during the Japanese-Puppet period. They were acquired by the Japanese and are now mostly hidden in Japan. In the Yan State, the pointed-headed sword and the needle-headed sword were popular at first. During the Warring States Period, they developed into the cut-headed sword and the Yanming sword. The word "ming" on the Yanming knife is in the shape of an eye, which is obviously different from the Qiming knife. Due to the large number of Yanming knives unearthed, the price is not high. The sword coins of Zhao State appeared relatively late, around the late Warring States Period. They were mainly straight knives with smaller shapes and round heads. The blades were often inscribed with place names, such as "Gandan, Bairen" and so on. The number of Zhao knives unearthed is very small, and they are all very rare. Knife coins are named because they are shaped like a knife. Qi State in the east and Yan State in the north mainly use knife coins. Knife coins are divided into two types: "Yanming Dao" and "Qi Daohua". The shape of the knife coin is similar to the knife tools used by northern nomads such as Shanrong and Beidi for fishing and hunting. Because there is the word "hua" on the Qidao surface, it is called "Daohua". The shape of the knife is divided into arc back, folded back and straight back. The head of the knife can be divided into flat head and pointed head. It is also an early bronze coinage in my country. The official name of "Knife Coin" is "Knife (goods) Knife Coin", which consists of four parts: knife head, blade body, knife handle and knife ring. The edge of the knife is contoured, the blade is not outward, facing left instead of right. The back is concave and the blade is convex. The head of the knife is close to a triglyph. The blade and handle are two rectangles of similar size. The ring is round. These geometric shapes are cleverly combined to form a stable, plump and round image beauty and harmonious beauty. "Jianshou Dao" (the blade of the knife has an acute angle) has a blade length of 15-18 cm, a width of about 1.8-2.6 cm, and a weight of about 15-16 grams. Its shape is similar to that of the Qi Dao, with a curved back and a concave blade. The blade is extremely thin and the back is extremely thick. However, they are both named because the upper end of the blade appears pointed. There are two straight lines on the surface and back of the handle and a ring on one end. At first, there were no words on both sides, and then most of them only had words on one side, mostly with a single word.

"Jian-shou knives" were known to originate mostly in Hejian, Baoding, Liaocheng and other places in the past. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1974, the repairing brigade of Xiaochengzi Commune, Lingyuan County, Liaoning Province unearthed 943 complete "jian-shou knives". The coins have an inscription of , Six, Day, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ji, Hai, Xing, Yu, Qiu, Gong, Shi, Ya, Nian, etc.; In 1975, a batch of "pointed heads" were unearthed from Xidong Shiqiao Village, the ancient city of Qi State in Linzi, Shandong. "Knife", 80 complete pieces exist; in 1978, a batch of "pointed-headed knives" were unearthed from the Yanxiadu Military Camp in Hebei Province, totaling 1,845 pieces, with a maximum width of 1.8-2.2 cm. The inscriptions are: Da, Ji, Yang, Day, Xing, Bing, There are more than 130 pieces including upper, ancient and arrow heads; during the Warring States Period Zhongshan Lingshou City site survey in 1979, a "pointed-headed sword" was unearthed in the cultural layer of the site from the Spring and Autumn Period to the early Warring States Period, which was earlier than the city site. The outer edge of the blade was raised and broken at the handle. There are two ridges on the handle, some of which are one ridge. The head of the handle is circular and does not extend into the blade surface. Its inscriptions are one, three, five, eight, gong, ren, huayi, yihua, yihua, Shanghua, Fei, Yun, etc. have plain backs, the length of the knife is about 16.2-17.4 cm, the width of the head is 2.2-2.8 cm, and the weight is 11-15 grams. Judging from the stratigraphy of the knife coins, the "Jian Shou Dao" coin is earlier than other knife coins found in the city. The Jian Shou Dao coin was unearthed alone, and there is no phenomenon of other knife coins being mixed together. Therefore, the "Jian Shou Dao" coin is more valuable than the Zhongshan Kingdom. The knife should be earlier. Judging from the Jian-shou knives unearthed in various places, the relationship between "Jian-shou knives" and "Yan knives" is very close. The "Jian Shou Dao" eventually changed its shape. The tip of the knife shrunk into a slope shape, and the word "0D" was cast on the face. From this, it can be seen that the "Jian Shou Dao" was not the "legalization" of the famous casting company of Yan State, but It is a currency minted by some local ethnic groups in Yan State for commercial needs. In the late period, Ming characters appeared on the "Jian Shou Dao", which was the forerunner of Ming Dao. The main sword coin of the Yan Kingdom is the "Ming Dao". Since there is a "0D" character number cast on the surface of this coin, the shape of this character changes greatly. Various schools have different interpretations of it. , Yi, Yan, Zhao, etc., so it is also called "Yi Dao", "Yan Dao" and "Ming Dao". Knife coins "Ming Dao" are often cast with words or symbols on the back, and there are now more than hundreds of them. They are usually the identification of the casting place or the casting furnace. Among them, those with "Qi" on the back are usually considered to be cast in the Qi State and are called "Qi Ming Dao", while other types are mostly called "Yan Ming Dao". The "Ming Dao" may be earlier than the founding of Yan, and the Yan people should have made empty heads of cloth or shells when minting coins, and they would not have minted "Ming Dao" from the beginning. Because the Yan people used cloth and shells when they were in Guanzhong, after arriving in Yan, King Zhao of Yan only made the "Ming Dao" after his restoration. The head of the knife is narrow, the tip is blunt, and the back of the knife has a small curvature and is interrupted. It is famous for its writing with a "ming" character. It is about 14-17 cm long, 1.3-2.2 cm wide, and weighs 15-18 grams. It was unearthed at the Yanxiadu site in Yixian County, Hebei Province, as well as in Hejian, Baoding, Lingyuan, Liaoning Province and other places. It is an early form of the Yanming knife. "Ming knives" are divided into two types: "circular folding knives" and "chime folding knives" based on the zigzag shape of the knife. "Folding knife" is generally a larger knife, about 12.8-13.5 cm long, 1.6-1.9 cm wide, and weighs about 14 grams. Its style is the same as the "pointed-shou knife", except that the surface pattern of the knife has the word "Yan", and the inscriptions on the back are left, right, inner, outer, and middle respectively, and are accompanied by other characters. This may be a Ji model article. The line connecting the blade and handle is circular. The memorization is more complicated, mostly using the characters "Yi" and "Left" and "Right", such as Zuo, Zuoyi, Zuo Shang, Zuo Yi, Yi Yi, You, Zuo Shang, Zuo Liu, etc. "Qing folding knife" (also known as square folding knife) is generally small in size, about 12.4-13.3 cm long, 1.5-1.7 cm wide, and weighs 12-18 grams. Some only weigh 1.4 grams. This It's an individual phenomenon. The line connecting the blade and handle is square folded. Ancient Qianists called this square fold "Qingzhe". Its font is long, majestic and bold, and its style is similar to that of Jimo Dao. The text on the back is left? Words such as 化. King Yan Zhao sent Le Yi to attack Qi and occupied its seventy-two cities for six years. The "knife coins" minted in Qi State are also round and heavy, and are usually regarded as treasures among Yan knives. The "circular folding knife" has a weight loss phenomenon, and the difference can be more than three centimeters. It was produced around the time of King Hui. During this period, on the one hand, due to the failure of Qi's general Tian Dan, Qi's territory was lost, and on the other hand, Qi's territory was lost. The feud with Zhao State and successive years of war caused economic difficulties and contributed to the phenomenon of currency devaluation. Knife Coin After that, the Yan State may have implemented a currency reform, abolished the round folding knife, and replaced it with a square folding knife. The style remained the same and the weight was reduced.

After the reform, there seemed to be a period of stability and weight loss again. The square folding knives in the late period were narrow and short, and the casters were rough, but the number was not as large as in the early period. Scholars inferred that it might have been cast by King Yan in Liao, but it soon became It was destroyed, so not much came out. This kind of knife with a square folded outer edge and a long droop was mostly unearthed in Shandong Peninsula and Jinan, Yidu, Feicheng, Juxian, Changyi and other places. Many of the inscriptions on the back have place names such as Ju, Anyang, Qi, etc. Not many of them have been unearthed, including the numbers and characters of stems and branches. The use of "knife coins" in the Yan region should be more than a thousand years old. It has undergone five reforms before and after, and is much more stable than other regions. It's just that it's located in a remote place, its craftsmanship is backward, and its knives and coins are a little rough, but it has a profound local style, straightforward and vivid, which is inferior to Qi and Zhao. Types of Knife Coins: Knife currency that was popular in Yan, Qi, Zhao and Zhongshan from the late Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period. The types are: knives a. Yan's bright-character knives, pointed-head knives, and needle-head knives; b. Qi's three-character knives (Qi Fahua knives), four-character knives (Qi's dharma knives), and five-character knives. Zizi Dao (Fahua Dao from Anyang and Fahua Dao from Jimo), Liuzi Dao (Fahua Dao from Qi Jianbang), Qiming Dao, Boshan Dao, etc.; c. Gandan Dao and Baibai Dao from Yue State , Baihua knives, Baihua knives, Wanghua knives, etc.; d. Chengbai straight knives and Baibai straight knives of Zhongshan Kingdom. e. Among the coins minted by Wang Mang in the new dynasty, there are gold-wrapped knives. Knife Coins Unearthed In 1918, a large number of ancient knife coins were unearthed in the north of Chejiaohe Village, Shidao Town, Rongcheng City, Shandong Province. In 1930, the remains of a knife coin were unearthed in the southwest of the ancient city of Pingling in Shandong Province. It had the word "Ju Bang" on it and was called Tan Bang Dao. It was unearthed in 1971 when digging an air-raid shelter in the Hanjia Hutong residential compound. It was probably a currency circulating in the Yan State and its surrounding areas in the late Warring States Period. Historical value Rare ancient coins are not only physical objects of monetary history, but also witnesses of history. Therefore, it is necessary to understand its status in history before collecting it. For example, "Chengdu Jiaozi" and the "Shiwen Zhongtong Yuanbao Jiaobao" discovered in Hohhot are the earliest banknotes discovered in my country so far, and are regarded as priceless treasures by academic circles; Jilin's "Guangping Silver Coin" is considered to be the first in my country. Machine-made coins; the "Cheng'an Baohuo" unearthed in Acheng County, Heilongjiang Province in August 1985 is a rare item of my country's "one-two-and-a-half count silver coins". The collection value of coins from the short-lived regime is also very high. Coins coined during short-lived dynasties or peasant uprisings have a short circulation time and a small circulation, making them rare treasures. For example, "Jingkang Tongbao" and "Jingkang Yuanbao" were cast during the reign of Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty. He was kidnapped to the north within 16 months of his reign. Therefore, "Jingkang" coins are minted in very small quantities, and "Jingkang Tongbao" is even rarer and is a national first-class cultural relic. After Li Zicheng established the Dashun regime, he minted "Yongchang Tongbao". This coin was minted in small quantities and had a very short circulation time. It is rare in the world and therefore very precious. There is also a kind of coin called "Arhat Money" that also has high collection value. When Emperor Kangxi was fighting a rebellion in Tibet, he borrowed bronze Buddhas and 18 golden Arhats from local lamas due to insufficient military pay. The copper and gold were melted and cast into coins. At that time, there was a logo printed on the front of the coins, which was the "Xi" in "Kangxi Tongbao". The characters are one less vertical for easy identification and recovery in the future. Because the money is made of molten gold Arhat, the people call it Arhat money. The existing quantity follows the collection principle of "rare things are more valuable". It depends not only on how old they are, how long they have been circulated, but also on how many are in existence. Our country's coins have a history of nearly 5,000 years. They can be roughly divided into knife coins, cloth coins, ant noses, etc. during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Qin Dynasty's outer circle and inner square coins, Tang Dynasty's Tongbao, Song Dynasty's reign name coins, and late Qing's " Xuantong Tongbao" has tens to hundreds of thousands of varieties. The knife coins of Qi, Yan, Zhao and other countries, and the cloth coins of Han, Wei, Qin and other countries are very old, rarer and more expensive than round coins. A small number of surviving coins include "Deyi Yuanbao" cast by the rebel Shi Siming in the Tang Dynasty after he occupied Luoyang. Later, it was found that the word "Deyi" was unlucky, so he changed it to "Shuntian" and cast "Shuntian Tongbao". These two kinds of coins are rarely handed down from generation to generation, and "Get Yi Yuan Bao" is particularly rare and a rare treasure. In addition, the commemorative copper coins of the "Sixth Year of Dakang" unearthed in a Liao tomb in Kulun Banner, Jilin in 1972 are also rare treasures; the Xixia "Guangding Yuanbao" seal script and real calligraphy coins unearthed in Helan Mountain in Yinchuan, Ningxia in 1984 , causing a sensation in the Tibetan community; so far, only one "Da Qi Tong Bao" from Nankang and the "National Treasure Golden Chamber of Ten Thousand Coins" from the Western Han Dynasty have been found, which can be called "orphans" among coins and have extremely high collection prices. and investment value. Cultural value: Some categories that have been handed down from generation to generation are popular mainly because of their high cultural taste and artistic value.

For example, coins such as "Huoquan" and "Buquan" during Wang Mang's New Dynasty in the Han Dynasty used vertical needle seal script; the nine-fold seal script "Quan Ti Tong Bao" cast during Renzong's reign in the Northern Song Dynasty was the earliest artistic calligraphy in China and is a collection of Treasure. "Kaiyuan Tongbao" written in the fourth year of Wude, Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, is the handwriting of the great calligrapher Ouyang Xun. His calligraphy style is upright and simple, strict and strict, vigorous and implicit; "Chunhua Yuanbao" was written by Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi in regular script, running script and cursive script. The cursive writing, the regular script is thick and dignified, the running script is timeless, and the cursive script is unrestrained and smooth, bringing the coin writing art of the Song Dynasty to an unprecedented level. There is also a pair of coins from the Song Dynasty. The original text and cursive writing were written by Sima Guang and Su Dongpo respectively. They are elegant and vigorous. They are unique in ancient and modern times and have high collection value. In addition, ancient coins that enjoy "unparalleled craftsmanship in seal script and the crown of the Six Dynasties" and "Northern Three Grades" and "Chongbao" belong to this category. It is very important to grasp the appearance of the ornaments. The investment value and growth rate of ancient coins are closely related to their appearance. If the same coin has different appearance, the price difference is often as high as ten times or even dozens or hundreds of times, which shows the importance of its appearance. Regardless of whether the coin is rare or not, if the coin has a blurred surface, missing outline, serious rust, or poor appearance, try not to collect it. When collecting ancient coins, you should also pay attention to whether there are signs such as moon patterns and star patterns. The identification of ancient coins uses the inscriptions on the back to distinguish the casting age and address, and to evaluate their rarity. Generally speaking, coins with moon patterns, star patterns and other marks on the back are more valuable for collection than coins with a smooth back. Among the coins worth collecting, palace coins made of gold, silver, white copper, etc. have small minting quantities and good quality, and are precious cultural relics.