Item number: A283

Year: 306-222 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 56.1 x 26.4 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 5.45 g

Provenance: Private Collecor, Taiwan, 2016

This is a currency from the state of Zhao during the Warring States period, known as the “Ping Zhou Pointed Foot Spade” coin. The minting location, “Ping Zhou,” is located within the present-day jurisdiction of Mizhi County in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. The coin’s production time should not be earlier than 306 BC when King Wuling of Zhao conquered this area. On the obverse side of the pointed foot spade, there are two vertical lines at the top, and the characters “Ping Zhou” are inscribed in seal script from right to left in the middle, separated by a vertical line. On the reverse side, there is a single vertical line at the top, and near the sides of the belly, there is another vertical line, with what appears to be the character for “three” between the two lines.

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: A283

年代: 公元前 306-222 年

材料: 青銅

尺寸: 56.1 x 26.4 x 1.0 mm

重量: 5.45 g

來源: 臺灣私人收藏 2016

這是一件戰國時期的趙國造「平州尖足布」貨幣，鑄造地點「平州」在今陝西省榆林市的米脂縣境內，鑄造時間應不早於趙武靈王征服此地的公元前306年。尖足布正面的首部有兩條豎線，從右至左以篆書在腹部寫有「平州」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，腹部靠近兩側各有一條豎線，兩線之間有疑似是記數「三」的文字。

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。