475-221BC CHINA WARRING STATES Early CHU STATE Chinese GHOST FACE Coin

• These are called Ghost Face (Or Ant nose) coins but that`s just a modern name as the picture of the “face” on these coins is actually ancient Chinese letters. They are from the Chinese state of Chu and date from the Warring states period (475-221BC). These Ghost Face cowries are proven to have been used as coins and have been found in hoards like ancient coins often are (The largest hoard ever found being 16,000 coins). Historian Sima Quan wrote: ``With the opening of exchange between farmers, artisans, and merchants, there came into use money of tortoise shells, cowrie shells, gold, coins knives , spades. This has been so from remote antiquity.”
• The size and weight of these coins are very variable and often contain a high percentage of Lead. Ghost face coins are imitations of cowrie shells. Cowrie shells were earlier used as a form of trade and barter and when they made coins they patterned them after Cowrie shells - which had value at the time. This is one of the earliest metal creations to be used as coins in the way that today we think of as how coins are used.
• WARRING STATES
• The ``Warring States`` period was a time in Chinese history characterized by constant multi party warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest that saw the annexation of all other contender states, which ultimately led to the Qin state`s victory in 221 BC as the first unified Chinese empire.
• There is a bit of debate among modern historians as to when the ``spring and autumn`` period ended. Various dates between 481BC and 403BC are sometimes used but the most commonly accepted date is 475BC because that`s the date that Han historian Sima Qian used. Sima Qian lived (Roughly) between 145BC and 86BC and he used the term ``Warring states period`` in his writings - hence the name ``Warring States``. He is considered the father of Ancient Chinese history for his writings of a general history of China covering more than two thousand years beginning from the rise of the legendary Yellow Emperor up until his time. The end of the Warring States period has no such controversy and ended with the Qin unifying a large swath of North eastern China in 221BC. Some of this time era and space overlaps some of the Zhou era - although the ``King of Zhou`` is usually mostly just a figurehead

(317886-909)

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