Knife money Ancient Chinese coinage
yan state knife money (燕国刀币) six-word knife money knife money same shape actual knives in use during zhou period. appear have evolved in parallel spade money in north-east of china. qi knives: these large knives attributed state of qi, , found in shandong area. not appear have circulated outside of area. although there has been considerable controversy concerning date of issue, archaeology shows them products of warring states period. known 3 character knives, 4 character knives , on, according number of characters in inscriptions. consider 3 horizontal lines , mark below on reverses part of inscription. inscription refers establishment of state of qi. have been in 1122 bc, 894 bc, 685 bc, or 386 bc, depending on how 1 interprets histories. 2 later dates introduction of these coins. alloy of 3 character knives contains around 54% copper, 38% lead, , 8% tin. 4 , 5 character knives contain 70% copper. needle tip knives: type of knife money distinguished long, pointed tip. unknown until 1...