Spade money


Spade money[Zhongshan (state)|] was an early form of coin and commodity money used during the Zhou dynasty of China. Spade money was shaped like a spade or weeding tool. Under the Xin dynasty created by Wang Mang spade money was reintroduced; there were 12 different types of spade money in the Xin dynasty, ranging in values from 100 to 1000 qián.

Hollow-handled spade money

Hollow-handled spades are a link between weeding tools used for barter and stylised objects used as money. Although flimsy, it retains the hollow socket by which a genuine tool could be attached to its handle. This socket is rectangular in its cross-section and still retains the clay from the casting process. In the socket, the hole that fixes the tool to its handle is also reproduced.
The inscriptions on these coins usually consist of one character, which can be either a number, a cyclical character, a place name, or the name of a clan. The crude writing is that of the artisans who made the coins, not the more careful script of the scholars who wrote the votive inscriptions on bronze. The style of writing is consistent with that of the middle Zhou period. Over two hundred inscriptions are known. Many have not been fully deciphered. The characters can be found on the left or right of the central line and may be inverted or retrograde. The alloy of these coins is typically 80% copper, 15% lead, and 5% tin. They are found in hoards of hundreds rather than thousands, sometimes tied together in bundles. Although there is no mention in the literature of their purchasing power, it is clear that they were not small change.
Flat-handled spade money does not have the hollow handle of the early spades. Nearly all have distinct legs, suggesting that their pattern was influenced by the pointed shoulder hollow-handled spades with further styling for easy handling. They are generally smaller and sometimes have denominations specified in their inscriptions in addition to place names. In combination with the little evidence of establishment dates of some mint towns, flat-handled spade money could have been a later development. Archaeological evidence dates them to the Warring States period. Arched foot spades have an alloy consisting of about 80% copper; for other types the copper content varies between 40% and 70%.
Zhongshan during the 4th century BC.
The mystique and rarity which surrounds the "three hole spade" money is such that many Chinese coin collectors have dubbed it to be "the king of ancient coins". Three hole spades are often unique, with many variants of them being one-of-a-kind with some varieties being only known as fragments. While catalogues of ancient Chinese coinages have existed for over nine centuries, the existence of three hole spades has only been known to modern people for around two centuries because of their rarity. Most known examples of three hole spade money are in the hands of private collectors who reside outside of mainland China.
The attribution of three hole spades remains unclear. Three hole spades are believed to have circulated as a form of currency in what is now eastern Shanxi and Hebei sometime during the end of the Warring States period. Scholars are divided over the attribution and they have attributed it to Zhao, Zhongshan, and Qin. Based on archaeological finds and digs in the modern era as well as the placenames of the cities which have been identified from the obverse inscriptions on various three hole spades, the strongest evidence points towards the hypothesis that they were produced by Zhao. While the fact that they use the Zhu and tael denominations are used as arguments that they might have been produced by Qin.
The obverse inscription of a three hole spade usually contains the name of city where it was produced. While its reverse inscription reads its denomination which was either 1 tael or 12 zhu. The 1 tael spades typically have a length of about 7.2 centimeters and are commonly known as "large" spades. The 12 zhu spades typically have a length of about 5.2 centimeters and are commonly known as "small" spades.
The first modern documented three hole spade occurred around two centuries ago during the Manchu Qing dynasty period when it was acquired by artist and epigrapher Zhang Tingji. The seal script characters that appear on the obverse inscription of this three hole spade are Xia Qu Yang. The city of Xiaquyang is believed to have been located in present-day Ningjin County, Hebei. The reverse inscription of this three hole spade is believed to be 17 tael. This specimen has a length of 7.35 centimeters, a width of 3.7 centimeters, and weighs 13.4 grams.
Zhang Tingji had later recorded this spade in his coin catalogue "Ancient Coin Rubbings", which had made the Xia Qu Yang three hole spade to be the first ever three hole spade to appear in any form of publication. During the early Republic of China period the Xia Qu Yang three hole spade was acquired by the famous Chinese coin collector Zhang Shuxun and the rubbing of the Xia Qu Yang three hole spade has appeared in almost every major Chinese coin catalogue that has published since this period.
Based on specimens that have appeared in coin catalogues dating back to the Qing Dynasty period, currently it is believed to be that there are more than 10 different city names that were used as obverse inscriptions for three hole spades and that there may be more than 30 varieties of the three hole spade in existence. Modern Chinese numismatists and scholars are puzzled as to why an ancient state would manufacture so many different varieties of a coin in such small quantities.
In the year 1974, a farmer in Fugou County, Henan, had unearthed a bronze three-legged tripod. Stashed inside this bronze tripod were eighteen specimens of spade money. 1 of these spades was a hollow-handled spade, while all the remaining 17 spade money were flat-handled spades. All of these unearthed spades are notably made of silver and are now on display at the Henan Museum.
This also notably makes it China's first ever recorded instance of silver coinage, according to an article in "China Numismatics Volume 3 of 1983".

Hoards of spade money