Item number: A284

Year: 386-222 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 56.5 x 28.4 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 5.41 g

Provenance: Private Collecor, Taiwan, 2016

This is a currency from the state of Zhao during the Warring States period, known as the “? Ping Pointed Foot Spade” coin. Due to its age, the surface exhibits considerable rust, obscuring many details. On the obverse side of the pointed foot spade, there are two vertical lines at the top, with the inscription “? Ping” in seal script in the abdomen, separated by a vertical line at the center. On the reverse side of the pointed foot spade, there is a single vertical line at the top, with presumably two vertical lines near each side in the abdomen, although they are largely obscured by rust. There appears to be a character resembling “two” between these lines.

The place names on the pointed foot spades from the State of Zhao are often read from right to left, with some inscriptions being vertically engraved on the same side. However, due to extensive rust damage on this object’s surface, the casting location cannot be directly discerned. Nonetheless, by comparing the remaining character “Ping” on the left side with other unearthed artifacts, three potential readings could be inferred: “Ping Zhou,” “Wu Ping,” and “Shang Ping.”

Spade money, also referred to in historical texts as “鎛” or homophonously as “布,” were metal coins shaped like spades, an agricultural tool. As the first form of metallic currency in Chinese history, spade money often appears in the logos of financial departments and banking institutions in regions such as China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The development of spade money dates from the late Shang Dynasty to the Warring States period, with the Three Jins region (Han, Zhao, and Wei) serving as its core and giving rise to various forms. Spade money circulated in Zhao, particularly represented by the “Pointed foot spade” with angular bases, available in large and small sizes. Small pointed foot spades are more commonly found in archaeological excavations, with over forty different variations known to exist. Even for spades minted in the same location, variations in the characters used to denote the place name may still be observed.

物件編號: A284

年代: 公元前 386-222 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 56.5 x 28.4 x 0.9 mm

重量: 5.41 g

來源: 臺灣私人收藏 2016

這是一件戰國時期的趙國造「?平尖足布」貨幣，惜因年代久遠表面多有鏽蝕，諸多細節已不復可見。尖足布正面的首部有兩條豎線，以篆書在腹部寫有「?平」兩字，中央以一道豎線分隔銘文。尖足布背面的首部有一條豎線，腹部靠近兩側應該各有一條豎線卻多為鏽蝕遮蓋，兩線之間有疑似是記數「二」的文字。

趙國尖足布的地名，多按照右至左的順序判讀，部分則是垂直刻劃於同側。該物件表面多遭鏽蝕破壞，無法直接判讀其鑄造地點。不過以左側殘餘的「平」字和其餘出土物件做比較，尚能得到「平州(周)、武平和商平」三種可能。

布幣是仿造鏟形農具的金屬錢幣，史書上寫作「鎛」或同音字「布」。由於布幣是中國歷史上第一種金屬貨幣，經常能在中國、香港和臺灣等地的財政部門和銀行機構標誌裡發現布幣。布幣從商朝末期發展到戰國時代，以三晉地區(韓、趙、魏)為核心已延伸出多種形態。趙國流通的布幣以尖角底座的「尖足布」為代表，分為大型和小型兩種大小。小型尖足布的出土較為豐富，其種類就高達四十餘種。即便是同一個地點鑄造的尖足布，地名的筆劃寫法可能仍有差異。