Item number: A1383

Year: 403-248 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 52.4 x 27.2 mm

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This is a “Zi Shi Half” Pointed Foot Spade Coin, minted during the Warring States period by the State of Zhao. The coin is notable for its decorative vertical and diagonal lines on the surface. The obverse side is inscribed with the mint location, “Zi Shi”, and the denomination, “Half.”

Zi Shi was located in present-day Fenyang, Shanxi Province, and was under Zhao’s jurisdiction until it was captured by the State of Qin in 248 BC, after which the area was reorganised as a county under Qin administration.

Archaeologists have uncovered numerous “Zi Shi”-inscribed pointed foot spade coins from the region, with smaller variants—measuring approximately 50 mm in length and weighing about 6 g—frequently engraved with the word “Half” to signify their fractional value.

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: A1383

年代: 公元前 403-248 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 52.4 x 27.2 mm

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這是一枚戰國時期由趙國鑄造的「茲氏半」尖足布，表面有許多豎線和斜線作為裝飾，正面有標示鑄造地點「茲氏」和面額「半」。茲氏位於今日山西汾陽一帶，於戰國時期屬於趙國管轄，直到公元前248年遭到秦國攻佔，並且在當地設縣治管理。

考古學家發現許多帶有「茲氏」銘文的尖足布，長度落在50公釐和重量6克左右的小尺寸者，多半還會鐫刻「半」字以利於區別。

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。