Item number: A1260

Year: 304-221 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 38.9 x 38.4 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 13.05 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2016

This is a round money “1 Lian 12 Chu” minted by the Qin state during the Warring States period. The coin is round with a circular hole in the centre. On the front side, the characters “一株重一兩．十二” are inscribed in seal script in a clockwise order. The reverse side is blank. round money minted by the Qin state are classified by weight into one liang and half liang. Scholars throughout history generally agree that “1 Lian 12 Chu” was a round money issued locally by the Qin state. The inscription “一株重一兩” indicates that this round money weighs one liang of the Qin state’s standard weight, while “十二” may refer to the coin mould number or the year of issuance. The character “株” in this context is recorded in historical texts as meaning “圜” or “圓” (round).

Round Money (圜錢) evolved from shell money. Archaeologists have discovered a type of finely cut and polished round shell with a central hole, which was used as currency in ancient times. Later, during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, these shell moneys were cast in copper, forming the prototype of the round money. Early round money were without inscriptions, featuring a central hole, one side convex and the other flat. Over time, they gradually evolved into square-holed round money. By the early Eastern Zhou period, round money with inscriptions began to appear, and by the early Warring States period, their circulation reached its peak. However, as various states’ governments forced the round money to be made heavier and more valuable, the production costs of these coins increased. Additionally, the regions where round money circulated often became battlegrounds during wars between states. As a result, round money makers were forced to continually reduce the weight of round money until it could no longer be decreased, leading to their eventual extinction.

物件編號: A1260

年代: 公元前 304-221 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 38.9 x 38.4 x 1.4 mm

重量: 13.05 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2016

這是一枚戰國時期秦國所鑄的圜錢「重一兩十二株」，錢面呈圓形、圓形穿孔，錢幣正面以順時針順序鑄有「一株重一兩．十二」的篆字字樣，背面無字。秦國所鑄造的圜錢，按重量可分一兩、半兩，歷代學者公認「重一兩十二株」是秦國本土所發行之圜錢。其中「一株重一兩」代表的是這一枚圜錢重量是秦國的一兩重，「十二」可能是鑄錢的錢范編號或發行年份，而此處的「株」據文獻紀載是「圜」或「圓」的意思。

圜錢是由貝幣所蛻變出的貨幣，過去考古學者出土過一種剪磨精整的圓形貝殼，中央則有一個圓形穿孔，是古人所流通的一種貨幣。後來這種貝幣到殷商變成以銅鑄造，就成了圜錢的原形。早期圜錢並無文字，中央為圓孔，一側凸起、一側扁平，之後逐漸演變出方孔型的圓錢，接著約東周初年時開始出現有字的圜錢，在戰國初期其流通程度到達高峰。之後由於各國政府強制圜錢增重增值，導致圜錢製作成本增加，而圜錢主要流通地區又經常成為各國交戰之戰場，因而鑄圜錢者被迫持續將其重量減少，直到圜錢重量已無可再減，最終消滅。