Item number: A2800

Year: 475-271 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 56.9 x 39.2 x 1.8 mm

Weight: 16.5 g

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2020

This is a spade coin (bu bi) dating to the early or middle Warring States period, circulated primarily in the territories of the Three Jins and the Two Zhaos, corresponding to present-day Henan and Shanxi provinces. The coin belongs to the category of medium-sized flat-handled spade coins and carries a nominal value of one jin.

Its form features a flat head, rounded shoulders, arched hollow (bridge-like legs), square feet, and a straight waist. The shoulders and legs flare outward, giving the coin a trapezoidal shape, with a raised border along the edge. The obverse bears the inscription “Yu yi jin” (虞一釿) in large seal script, written both in mirror-image and reversed script. The character “Yu” may alternatively be interpreted as “Wei”, “Li”, or “Shan”. The character “jin” is composed of reversed components for “metal” (金) and “axe” (斤). The reverse of the coin is flat, plain, and uninscribed, with no raised border.

The term jin in antiquity was synonymous with jin (斤), originally serving as a unit of weight. Over time, jin and jin diverged into separate systems. The jin mentioned in the inscription is associated with the same system as yi (鎰), with one yi possibly equivalent to ten jin. The standard jin, by contrast, belongs to the system of zhu (銖) and liang (兩), in which one jin equals sixteen liang, and one liang equals twenty-four zhu. According to inscriptions on the Ding of Lord Ping’an of Miyang, one jin is estimated to be equivalent to approximately 25 to 38 grams in modern weight. During the Warring States period, one standard jin was generally considered to be around 250 grams. Actual measurements of coins bearing the denomination jin suggest that those from the early Warring States period weighed approximately 30 grams, but declined steadily thereafter, with some coins from the late period weighing as little as 10 grams.

The state of Yu was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty. Archaeological remains attributed to Yu have been unearthed at Gucheng Village, Zhangdian Town, Pinglu County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. The ancient capitals of Shun (Puban), Yu (Yangcheng), and several capitals of the Xia dynasty are also believed to have been located within Yuncheng. During the Spring and Autumn period, the region belonged to Jin. After the partition of Jin among Han, Zhao, and Wei, the area came under Wei’s control. The town of Shanyì, located in present-day Shanzhou District, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, was under the jurisdiction of the state of Guo during the Spring and Autumn period, later incorporated into Jin, and subsequently divided among Han, Wei, and Qin after the partition. In the first year of Duke Xiao of Qin (361 BC), Qin forces besieged Shanyì, then under Wei’s control. In the first year of King Huiwen of Qin (324 BC), Zhang Yi seized it for Qin and fortified it as Shang Commandery.

During the Warring States period, Wei was among the earliest states to rise to prominence through systemic reform. Following the partition of Jin in 403 BC, Marquis Wen of Wei employed Li Kui to implement reforms inspired by Legalist thought, establishing military merit-based ranks and centralised administration, thereby enabling Wei to assert dominance over the Central Plains. However, excessive external expansion caused strategic overreach, and military defeats—particularly on the western front against Qin—led to the loss of the Hexi region. Following its defeat by Qi at the Battle of Maling in 341 BC, Wei’s national strength declined, and it subsequently aligned itself with the anti-Qin he zong (vertical alliance). Ultimately, in 225 BC, General Wang Ben of Qin diverted the Yellow River to flood Daliang (modern-day Kaifeng), leading to the fall of Wei.

Spade coins were a type of shovel-shaped currency widely used during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, with a form thought to be derived from agricultural tools, making them one of the earliest forms of cast currency in China. They were mainly circulated in the Zhou royal domain and in the states of Jin, Zheng, Song, and Wei. The earliest forms included bridge-foot and pointed-foot variants. Scholars generally agree that square-foot spade coins originated in Wei and were later adopted by other states. The states of Yan, Zhao, and Qin also imitated spade coins from the Three Jins to facilitate trade or compete in regional markets. Compared to those of Jin, spade coins from Yan featured narrower necks and coarser casting. Overall, the evolution of spade coins progressed from hollow-headed to flat-headed designs; shoulder shapes transitioned from broad to narrow, flat or raised to drooping or rounded; foot types evolved from bridge-foot and pointed-foot to square and rounded feet; waist sections shifted from arched to flat or pointed; and the general form became progressively lighter and thinner. The circulation of spade coins declined following Wei’s defeat by Qin and ceased entirely after the First Emperor of Qin unified the currency system.

物件編號: A2800

年代: 公元前 475-271 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 56.9 x 39.2 x 1.8 mm

重量: 16.5 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2020

這是一枚戰國時期早期或中期，流布於三晉、兩周，即今河南、山西等地區的布幣。形制大小屬中型布，幣值為一釿。

布幣形制平首、圓肩、弧襠(橋足)、方足、直腰，自肩及足向外伸展，呈梯形，周沿有廓。正面幣文為大篆「虞一釿」倒書暨反書。大篆「虞」亦可能釋為魏、歷、陝等；「釿」字「金」旁與「斤」旁反書。錢背平素，無文無廓。於河南洛陽、新鄭、淇縣，山西運城等地皆有出土。

釿古通斤，原為重量單位，後釿、斤分流，釿與鎰同系統，可能一鎰等於十釿。斤則與銖、兩同系統，一斤等於十六兩，一兩等於二十四銖。據泌陽平安君鼎銘文，一釿約合今25至38公克。而戰國斤重一半通說為約合今250公克。而實測以釿為值之錢幣，大約戰國早期能有30公克，爾後便直落，至戰國晚期有約10公克者。

虞國為周代諸侯國，今山西省運城市平陸縣張店鎮古城村出土有虞國遺址。舜都蒲坂、禹都陽城，以及多個夏都也都被認為位在運城市境內。春秋時屬晉，三家分晉後則屬魏。陝邑則位於今河南省三門峽市陝州區，春秋時其屬虢，後歸晉，三家分晉該地區後分屬韓、魏、秦。秦孝公元年(公元前361年)曾出兵圍陝，該邑則屬魏，秦惠文王更元元年(公元324年)，張儀取為陝城，築上郡塞。

戰國時期，魏國是最早崛起並進行變法圖強的諸侯國之一。自前403年三家分晉後，魏文侯任用李悝推行法家改革，確立軍功爵制與中央集權，使魏一度主導中原政局。然而魏國對外擴張過度，導致兵力分散，特別在西線對秦失利，逐漸喪失河西之地。前341年馬陵之戰敗於齊國後，魏國國力衰退，轉而依附合縱抗秦。最終，前225年秦將王賁引黃河水灌大梁，魏國滅亡。

布幣為流行於中國春秋戰國時期的鏟型貨幣，形狀應源自農具，為中國最早之鑄幣。主要流行於周王畿以及晉、鄭、宋、魏等諸侯國。初為橋足布、尖足部，而學者認為方足布應為由魏國首先發展，再傳布各國。燕、趙、秦等國為便利貿易或搶占市場，亦曾經仿三晉地區鑄行布幣。與晉布幣相較，燕布幣束頸較深，鑄工較粗。總體而言，布幣的發展大致上是由空首到平首，肩部由寬變窄，從平肩、聳肩變為垂肩、圓肩，由橋足、尖足變為方足、圓足，襠部由弧形變為平直、尖角，由厚重變為輕薄。布幣的流行，可能從魏國為秦國攻滅後逐漸減少，至秦始皇統一貨幣後消失。