Item number: A3754

Year: 356–222 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 138.6 x 17.6 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 16.1 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a knife-shaped currency that circulated widely within the territory of the state of Yan during the mid to late Warring States period.

The currency conforms to knife-coin forms characteristic of the mid to late Warring States period. The transition between the blade and the handle is rounded, and has not yet developed into the angular bend seen in later types that facilitated bundling. By contrast, both the cutting edge and the spine are already nearly straight. The ridge of the handle extends upward into the blade, reinforcing the overall structure and reducing the likelihood of breakage; however, unlike the later Ming knife coins, in which the ridge runs straight to join the outline of the back, here it follows a curved line parallel to the rounded transition between blade and handle. The entire coin exhibits green copper corrosion. On one side of the blade, a single character is incised in oracle-bone script; its form lies between the large seal script characters xin (辛) and qian (千), and its precise identification remains uncertain. The reverse is plain and uninscribed. At the end of the handle is a circular perforation used for suspension. Knife coins bearing the characters “辛”, “千”, and this related inscription have all been excavated at the Yan Lower Capital site at Yi County, Hebei.

Knife coins were a form of currency used during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Although they were primarily cast by the states of Yan and Qi, the expansion of monetary circulation zones, together with imitation and counterfeiting by other states, led to their widespread use mainly in Yan, Qi, Zhao, and the state of Zhongshan—polities located in the northern and eastern regions. The prototype of the knife coin is thought to have been everyday implements used by fishing and hunting communities. Ming knife coins represent the most common knife-coin type of the state of Yan; however, the obverse inscriptions are in fact diverse and cannot be generalised under a single category.

The history of the state of Yan can be traced back to the early Western Zhou period, when Shao Gong Shi, a member of the royal house, assisted King Wu of Zhou in overthrowing the Shang dynasty and was subsequently enfeoffed. Because Yan’s territory lay far from the Central Plain, historical records of its early history are relatively obscure, becoming clearer only in the Warring States period, when Yan engaged more closely with the Central Plain states. After the First Emperor of Qin launched his campaigns of unification, Yan was the penultimate state to be annexed by Qin. In an attempt to resist Qin’s advance, Crown Prince Dan of Yan dispatched the assassin Jing Ke to assassinate the King of Qin, but the attempt failed. Yan was ultimately conquered by Qin in 222 BC.

物件編號: A3754

年代: 公元前 356–222 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 138.6 x 17.6 x 1.4 mm

重量: 16.1 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚戰國中晚期，在燕國境內大量流通的刀幣。

這一枚刀幣符合戰國中至晚期的刀幣形制，刀身與柄的轉折處為圓弧，仍未轉變為晚期的方折以便於綑綁。但刃與背已經近乎平直。刀柄的脊線向上延伸至刀身以強化整體的強度，不會輕易地被折斷，但不像晚期的明刀，脊線平直連接刀背邊廓，而是沿著刀身與柄的轉折處平行呈圓弧。刀幣通體呈現銅綠色鏽蝕，其中一面的刀身以甲骨文鐫刻一字，介於大篆「辛」與「千」之間，具體待考。背面則光素無文。刀柄尾端則有一個供穿繫用的圓孔。「辛」字、「千」字，與該字銘之刀幣，皆曾於河北易縣的燕下都遺址出土。

刀幣是一種春秋戰國時期貨幣，由燕國、齊國主鑄，但因貨幣流通區塊的擴張，以及各國的仿鑄與偽造，主要流通於燕、齊、趙和中山國等等，地處北方和東方的諸侯國。刀幣原型為模仿漁獵族群使用的生活器具。「明」刀幣是燕國最為普遍的刀幣形制，但其實面文多元，難以一概而論。

燕國的歷史能追溯至西周立國初期，輔佐周武王打敗商朝的宗室召公奭。由於燕國的封地遠離中原地區，因此史冊對於燕國早期的歷史較為模糊，直到戰國時期燕國和中原各國有較為密切的互動。秦始皇展開統一大業之後，燕國是倒數第二個遭到秦國併吞的國家，為了抵擋秦國的入侵，燕太子丹派遣刺客荊軻刺殺秦王未果，最終燕國仍於公元前222年遭到秦國征服。