Ban Liang coins Ancient Chinese coinage

obverse , reverse of ban liang coin western han dynasty.

the ban liang coins take name 2 character inscription ban liang (chinese: 半兩; pinyin: bàn liǎng), means half liang. liang, chinese ounce, consisted of 24 zhu (chinese: 銖; pinyin: zhū), , equivalent of 16 grams. original ban liang weighed equivalent of 12 zhu – 8 grams; however, kept inscription when weight later reduced. means ban liangs found in great variety of sizes , calligraphic styles, same inscription, difficult classify , date exactly, of unofficial or local manufacture.

these coins traditionally associated qin shi huang di, first chinese emperor, united china in 221 bc. history of han says: when qin united world, made 2 sorts of currency: of yellow gold, called yi , currency of higher class; , of bronze, similar in quality coins of zhou, bore inscription saying half ounce, , equal in weight inscription.

archaeological evidence shows ban liang first issued in warring states period state of qin, possibly 378 bc. remarkable find bamboo tablets amongst found regulations (drawn before 242 bc) concerning metal , cloth money. thousand coins, , bad mixed, placed in pen (baskets or jars) , sealed seal of director. @ zhangpu in shaanxi, such sealed jar, containing 1,000 ban liang of various weights , sizes, discovered. 7 ban liang found in tomb datable 306 bc.

at beginning of western han dynasty, c. 200 bc, people allowed cast small light coins known yu jia (chinese: 榆莢; pinyin: yú jiá), elm seed coins, heavy qin coins inconvenient. in 186 bc, official coin weight reduced 8 zhu, , in 182 bc, wu fen (chinese: 五分; pinyin: wǔ fēn) (5 parts) coin issued – taken 5 parts of ban liang, i.e. 2.4 zhu. in 175 bc, weight set @ 4 zhu. private minting permitted again, strict regulation of weight , alloy. in 119 bc, ban liang replaced san zhu, , wu zhu coin.