The earliest currency in China was seashells. Shells are often found in prehistoric Yangshao, Longshan and Dawenkou cultural sites, Erlitou cultural sites in Xia Dynasty and tombs in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and there is a record in "On Wrong Coins of Salt and Iron" that "Xia Hou took Xuanbei". Shellfish is a distant product produced in the warm sea in the south, and it is a beautiful and precious ornament. It can be traced back to the Xia Dynasty, when China entered the class society and the country came into being. Shang Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty were the main currencies in circulation. There were also imitation copper shells without words in the late Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty. By the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, it developed into a bronze shell ant nose coin with inscriptions, forming a formal metal coin, which was mainly circulated in the southern Chu area. Empty shell currency

The other earliest currencies were copper coins, spears and knives. Money and shovels are agricultural tools, knives are multi-purpose tools, and they are also transferable property. They were unearthed in the ruins of the Yin and Zhou Dynasties or earlier. Probably in the late Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty, these bronze tools formed universal equivalents in different regions. Since the Spring and Autumn Period, Qian and Qi have developed into full-time currency, which is called "empty cloth" by later generations. Although the basic structure of bronze shovel is preserved, it has a slender spear, but it is not suitable for wooden handle and cannot be used as a tool, which has become a typical pre-Qin coin. In the Warring States period, it further developed into cloth coins with small shovel-shaped copper sheets, which were mainly distributed in the northern Zhou, Jin, Zheng and Wei regions. Bronze knives developed into knife coins in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, mainly distributed in Qi, Yan and Zhao areas. Middle and late warring States period

Love money

In Zhou, Wei, Zhao, Qin, Qi and Yan, a kind of round metal coin appeared, which was more convenient to give, accept and use. In particular, Qin officially adopted the coin system, which prepared the conditions for the development of coins into a unified form throughout the country.

the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period

Precious metal gold also enters circulation as currency. Calculated by neptunium (20 taels) and gold (16 taels). Chu also has a gold inscription "Yingcheng", and the south is rich in gold. This is a relatively primitive gold coin, but it is the earliest gold coin in China.

Legal tender in Qin and Han Dynasties

After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty in 22 1 BC, various local currencies, including Beibi, were abolished, and gold was stipulated as the currency, that is, the currency was mainly exercised within the upper ruling class, and the unit was Japanese yen. There are also copper coins, square holes and half a penny from the former Qin state, which are used as the next coins, mainly for folk daily transactions. In this way, the currency types and units in China were unified for the first time. The round hole form of half-taels of money conforms to the world view of the ancients and is convenient for giving and receiving in economic life, so this form of coin casting has been used until the late Qing Dynasty.

Han inherited the Qin system-gold is the first-class currency.

gold coin

The unit is Jin. Copper coins were used as second-class coins, and private casting was allowed in the early Han Dynasty. During BC 1 18 ~ BC 1 13, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty abolished the previous currency, reverted the coinage right to the central government, and unified the casting of five baht. Five baht money is a successful coin in history, and its circulation lasted for more than 700 years until the end of Sui Dynasty.

The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were full of grain and silk.

Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties "grain and silk are the city". Grain and silk are necessities of people's livelihood and their values are relatively stable. As an important measure of value and means of payment, they have different degrees of monetary performance. Whenever the situation is turbulent and the currency fluctuates violently, it becomes the most acceptable means of payment. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the country was divided for a long time, the society was in turmoil, the monetary system was chaotic, and there was no unified monetary system standard. During the Cao Wei period, grain and silk were mostly used as money, but became a common means of payment in the Northern Qi Dynasty. Grain and silk were traded in most areas of Nanliang. This negative legacy of currency circulation influenced the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and formed a system of paying equal attention to money and silk, that is, silk for large transactions and copper for daily small payments. In the Tang Dynasty, silk products were legal tender, including brocade, silk, yarn and other silk products, as well as silk, silk, hemp and so on, but mainly silk and silk. Because silk and cloth are easily damaged and often cut in circulation, it is often rejected by copper coins until the Song and Sui Dynasties withdrew from circulation.

Kaiyuan Bao Tong in Tang Dynasty

Kaiyuan Bao Tong

The establishment of the Tang Dynasty brought long-term stability and unity, and created conditions for the unification of the currency. In the 4th year of Tang Wude (62 1), Bao Tong minted coins in Kaiyuan, which was another epoch-making copper minting system in the ancient currency history of China. The word "treasure" is used for copper coins, which shows that China's metal coinage system broke away from the monetary measurement and naming system named "half taels" and "five baht" and developed into a higher level coinage. Since then, the Bowen monetary system has been implemented and the two systems of Thai baht have been abolished. The circulation of Kaiyuan Bao Tong's money also had a great influence on China's balance method. At first, the weight count was 24 baht, but after the wide circulation of Kaiyuan Bao Tong coins with 2 baht and 4 horns, the decimal system of 120 horns gradually formed, making the calculation more convenient. The system of treasure banknotes established in the Tang Dynasty lasted for more than 1000 years, including the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Roughly after the Song Dynasty, every time the emperors of various dynasties changed their titles, they would cast a new treasure money marked with titles, so this kind of money was also called title money.

The appearance of copper coins, iron coins and paper money in Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty never established a unified copper coin system, but inherited the fact that iron coins were used in some areas during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, forming a circulation system in which copper coins and iron coins coexisted. Iron coins are heavier than copper coins and have lower unit value. At that time, the largest circulation area of iron coins was rich Sichuan. Due to the lack of proper means of payment for bulk transactions and payments, the earliest paper money in the world, namely Sichuan Jiaozi, came into being at the end of 10. Since then, the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty have continued to issue banknotes with different names. In the vast Yuan Dynasty, paper money was the only legal tender in China.

The combination of money and money in Ming and Qing Dynasties

money

As a currency, silver was first found in a batch of empty silver cloth unearthed in the Spring and Autumn Period in the west gate of the ancient city of Fugou County, Henan Province, but there are few examples. In 65438 BC+065438 BC+09 BC, the Western Han Dynasty also cast "three platinum products", but "we can't abandon them after the end of the year". By the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, silver had a tendency to enter circulation, and the folk circulation in the Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties was more and more extensive. It developed into a common official currency in the middle of Ming Dynasty. silver ingot

After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the commodity currency economy developed further, but all the feudal governments in the past dynasties issued too much paper money, which led to inflation and caused the objective condition that precious metals were needed as currency. At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, in some places, regardless of the price of goods, the price was determined by gold and silver. Facing the reality, although the feudal government of Ming Dynasty did not explicitly abolish the paper money "Daming Treasure Bank" at the end of Ming Dynasty, it lifted the ban on using silver from the first year of orthodoxy (1436). With the national levy of "Golden Flower Silver" as a symbol, a currency circulation system with large transaction silver and small payment silver and currency will be formed. After Jiajing, silver became the main currency in the circulation field. Silver is measured by weight in units of two. There are many regulations on the price comparison of silver and money in different dynasties, such as one or two pieces of silver, which are equivalent to Hongwu money 1000 pieces, 3000 pieces of former money and 700 pieces of Jiajing money respectively, but they have changed greatly in circulation. The monetary system of the Qing Dynasty was still generally parallel to silver and money, which stipulated that silver should be combined with 1000 copper coins, but in fact it changed frequently. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, precious metal silver has been cast into 50% silver ingots, later commonly known as ingots. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Yin Bao was still in circulation, but it was gradually replaced by silver dollars.

Edit this segment of Shang coins

In Shang Dynasty in China, shells were used as money. With the development of commodity economy, natural shells are in short supply, so artificial shell coins have appeared, such as stone shell coins, bone shell coins, mussel shell coins and so on. Late Shang dynasty, extinction

Now we use copper metal shell coins.

Edit this pre-Qin coin

Pre-Qin coins

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Beibi completely withdrew from the historical stage, and different currencies were formed in different regions due to social conditions and cultural differences. There are mainly: ant nose money in Chu area, cloth money in the Yellow River basin, knife money in Qiyan area and ring money in Sanjin and Shanxi provinces.

Edit this Qin and Han coins

After the Qin dynasty destroyed the six countries, it abolished the old coins such as cloth coins and knife coins of various countries, and used square holes and half two coins as legal tender. Since then, the form of China's ancient currency has been fixed, and it has been used until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Han inherited the Qin system and allowed the people to make their own castings. Copper coins in the Western Han Dynasty were still named by weight, but the weight gradually did not match the name. From the fourth year of Yuanshou (BC 1 19), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered the casting of five baht coins in Shanglin Sanguan, and the right to coin was returned to the central government. There are three main types of copper coins in the Western Han Dynasty: half two, three and five baht. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, during Wang Mang's regency and the new dynasty's rule, he reformed Tuo Domineering and carried out four major monetary reforms in more than ten years. Wang Mang's monetary reform ended in failure. However, at that time, the technological level of coins reached an unprecedented height. The cast "Jin Cuodao" has been loved by collectors since ancient times because of its unique shape and exquisite technology. All the money minted in the Eastern Han Dynasty was five baht.

Editing coins of the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Coins of the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

During the period of social unrest in the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the circulation scope of metal currency was reduced, and the shape and currency were different, which led to the phenomenon of valuing money over money. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei implemented the monetary policy in kind, and Wei Mingdi resumed casting five baht, similar to the five baht in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Shu Han and Wu Dong practiced a lot of money. The main currencies are: straight 150 baht, straight 100, etc. Wu coins mainly include: Daquan 500, Daquan pawn money, Daquan 2000 and so on. After the establishment of the Western Jin Dynasty, the old coins of the Han and Wei Dynasties were mainly used, as well as grain, silk and other physical objects. At the beginning of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wu's old money was still used. Later, a small coin with five baht appeared, which was said to be minted by Xing Wu Shen Chong, so it was also called "Five baht in Shen Lang". During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, Li Shou, an adult Han Dynasty, produced the earliest annual money "Hanxing" in China. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the society was very turbulent, the currency value was chaotic, and the phenomenon of private casting was serious. From the Northern Wei Dynasty, Qian Wen gradually got rid of the restriction of discipline and gradually transitioned to the annual salary system.

Edit this paragraph of coins of the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

With the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, China's chaotic currencies tended to be unified. For three years, Emperor Wendi minted standard five-baht coins and prohibited the circulation of old coins. Ten coins in Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties

Kaiyuan Bao Tong, the annual money minted by Tang Wude for four years, is gone forever, replaced by Bowen monetary system (mainly Bao Tong, Yuanbao and Chongbao). Since then, coins have not been named by weight, but by year. Kaiyuan Bao Tong was the main currency in the Tang Dynasty for 300 years. In addition, other coins were minted, such as Ganfeng Chongbao, Gan Yuan Chongbao, Dali Yuanbao, Jianzhong Bao Tong, Xian Tong Xuanbao and Shuntian Yuanbao, Deyi Yuanbao and so on. Five Dynasties and Ten Countries, political division, regime change, like a merry-go-round. In order to weaken the strength of other countries, countries enhance their own strength by casting bad coins, so there are many coins, but the quality is not high.

Edit this passage of Xixia coins in Song, Liao, Jin and Qing Dynasties.

China Song Dynasty was a relatively developed period of coinage, which surpassed the previous generation in quantity and quality, and was another peak after Wang Mang's money. Copper coins dominated the Song Dynasty and iron coins dominated the Southern Song Dynasty. After the Northern Song Dynasty, the title money really became popular, and almost every time the title was changed, new money was cast, and Qian Wen's calligraphy reached its peak. Qian Wen's calligraphy styles are varied, among which Song Huizong's thin gold body "Daguan Bao Tong" is the most famous. At the same time, the circulation of silver has also achieved an important position. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Jiaozi, the earliest paper money in the world, appeared, followed by other paper money: Huizi and Guanzi, which played an increasingly important role. In addition, money sharing, prison money, kitchen money and annual money also came into being. Song Huizong Evonne's thin gold body is a must. Xixia coins in Song, Liao and Jin Dynasties

Liao is a country founded by the Khitans. At first, the currency of the Central Plains was used, and later it came from coinage. Taking China people as Qian Wen, most coins have not been refined. Xixia once minted two kinds of written currency, one is Xixia language, which is called "money in the house"; One is Han money, which is similar in shape and size to Song money. The coins in Xixia are finished, and the words are beautiful. The Jin State was founded by the Jurchen nationality and once ruled a vast area in northern China. It makes all kinds of coins, including copper coins and paper money, all of which are from China. The coins in the state of Jin were greatly influenced by the Southern Song Dynasty.

Edit yuan, Ming and Qing coins in this paragraph

Silver currency

By the Yuan Dynasty, paper money had become the basic currency in circulation, and copper coins no longer occupied the main position. At the same time, the circulation of silver accounts for a large proportion. When the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty believed in Buddhism, they invested some small money to support them, and temples were dedicated to the Buddha. Yuanming Qian Qing pen

In the Ming dynasty, paper money was vigorously promoted. In the early Ming Dynasty, only paper money was used instead of money. Later it was changed to both paper money and paper money. However, in the Ming Dynasty, only one kind of paper money was issued, Daming Treasure Paper Money. Silver became the legal tender in circulation in the Ming Dynasty. Silver was mostly used for large transactions, while paper money or coins were used for small transactions. In the Ming Dynasty, ten emperors minted annual coins. Because of avoiding the word "Yuan" of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, all coins in the Ming Dynasty were collectively called "Bao Tong" instead of "Yuanbao". In the Qing Dynasty, silver was the main material, and money was often used in small transactions. In the early Qing Dynasty, casting money followed the tradition of more than 2,000 years ago, making money with molds, and later imitating foreign countries and making money with machines. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom invaded Nanjing, it also cast copper coins, which were greatly influenced by religion and were called "sacred treasures". Daming Bao Chao