China - Arched Foot Spade money

November 2024

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T. P. Collection. This is a flat handled spade, Type 1 of the Arched Foot type (400 - 300 B.C. ). OB: "An Yi Er Jin" (An Yi two Jin), here the inscription is inverted; Rx: plain. These wonderful types are associated with the State of Liang (aka Wei) and the State of Han. Hartill # 3.10 has the following note: "In the Warring States Period An Yi, in S.W. Shanxi, was the capital of the State of Liang (Wei). This specimen is 27.9 grams and 41 x 65 mm.
Some of the earliest money was made in China, where coins were cast in the shape of tools such as spades and knives. Utilitarianly worthless, these token objects recollected real implements with actual utility value, items that had traditionally been bartered for livestock and land. The change to a make-believe version in the 7th century BCE increased commerce by easing exchange “ i.e., friction was reduced by lightning the load“ but these coins reminded people at every trade that money was merely symbolic. Knife and spade money arguably countered the abstraction of wealth and the concomitant distortion of values. [NNP, Newman Numismatic Portal article]