China - Hollow Handled Pointed Shoulder Spade money

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T. P. Collection. This is a nice long hollow handled spade money, Type 3, with Pointed Shoulders (500 - 400 B.C.). These types are found in N.E. Henan and Shanxi provinces, territory of the Duchy of Jin, then later Zhao. This Hartill # 3.182 is a slightly smaller version with no inscriptions. This example is 25.2 grams, size 139 mm x 65 mm wide at tip of points.
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]