Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional customs - Monetary System of Chinese Monetary History

Monetary System of Chinese Monetary History

From the Spring and Autumn Period to the metal coinage stage to the Warring States Period, four major currency systems have been established: cloth coins, knife coins, ant nose coins, and ring coins.

4. The copper shells minted by Chu State are called ant nose coins, which evolved from shell coins.

The copper shell coin "" is shaped like a grimace, which is a combination of the two characters "贝化".

Ant nose means small, which means small money.

The copper shell coins of Chu State are commonly known as "Ghost Face Money" and "Ant Nose Money".

In addition to ant nose money, Chu State also had gold weighing currency. It was the only country in the Warring States Period that used gold as its currency.