1. Physical currency. Money originated from commodity exchange, and the initial transaction medium was physical money. During the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, besides the weighed copper coins, there were many physical coins: farm tools, pearls, fabrics, tortoise shells and so on. Of course, shellfish is the main thing. Shellfish also have imitation shells such as bones, stones, pottery, mussels and gold. After the Song Dynasty, due to economic development, silver gradually became the main currency in China.
2. Dominant currency. Lead money existed as early as the Han Dynasty, but it didn't circulate in the market as money. In the Five Dynasties, the "Kaiyuan" lead coins cast by Wang began to circulate in the market. Gong Liu in the Southern Han Dynasty cast "dry and heavy treasure" lead money, which was often unearthed in Guangdong later.
3. Iron currency. Iron Qian Qi originated from the Western Han Dynasty, and four and a half pieces of iron coins were unearthed in archaeology. There are many kinds of iron coins in the Song Dynasty, and there are complicated differences in year number and size. From the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, the government stopped casting money with iron.
4. Ancient gold currency. Ancient books recorded that there was gold currency in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Gold coins were always used in the Qin and Western Han Dynasties, but in the Eastern Han Dynasty, gold was greatly reduced. Since then, gold has gradually lost its legal tender status. Due to the rising value of gold, people often use gold as decorations or other works of art, which makes its storage function gain an important position. The legal tender status of gold has not been restored in the Tang and Song Dynasties.
5. Ancient silver coins. Silver coins were first used in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, silver coins were cloth-shaped, plate-shaped and round-cake-shaped. After Qin Shihuang unified the currency, he ordered that silver should not be used as the currency. There were a few silver coins in Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, the scope and quantity of the use of silver greatly increased, and the status of silver in circulation surpassed that of gold. By the end of the Song Dynasty, it was abolished. Paper money was widely used in the Yuan Dynasty. After the Ming Dynasty, silver gradually became a common currency. In Qing dynasty, silver was the main factor, supplemented by copper. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, many kinds of silver coins were issued in various places.
6. Ancient paper money. Jiaozi in the Northern Song Dynasty was the earliest paper money in China and even in the world. Paper money was mainly used in the yuan dynasty, and the yuan system was implemented in the early Ming dynasty. The "Daming Treasure Banknote" issued during the Hongwu period in Ming Taizu is made of mulberry paper, which is one foot high and six inches wide, and is the largest banknote in China. In the early Qing Dynasty, no paper money was printed. Later, due to national difficulties, "household paper money" was issued, referred to as "official paper money". Later, the "Bao Qing Banknote", referred to as "Bao Banknote", was issued, and its denomination was complicated, which quickly depreciated sharply. By the end of Xianfeng, official tickets had become waste paper, and treasure banknotes were always worth only two or three articles. After Tongzhi stopped using paper money, copper coins were still used.
The above are divided into six categories according to the material of money. Judging from the names of currencies, there are mainly the following categories: North Coin, Dao Coin, Cloth Coin, Qian Yuan, Ai Jin, Ant Nose Coin, Banliang Coin, Wuzhu Coin, Duiqian Coin, Bao Tong Coin, Puqian Coin, Tieqian Coin, Chongbao Coin, Copper Coin, Silver Ingot, Yuanbao Coin and Jiaozi Coin.