Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
May 2020 Hong Kong Auction 4-6 May 2020
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CHINA. State of Chu. "Yuan Jin" Gold Cube Money, ND (ca. 475-221 B.C.). Warring States Period. Graded "XF" by Huaxia Grading Company.
Hartill-5.1; History of Chinese Currency-pg. 7, #1. Weight: 16 gms. A partial cube (cut at boundary between two cubes) with fragment of inscription "Ying Yuan", made in what is now Hubei Province. Nice, cleanly cut piece with dark golden tone and blank reverse.
Hartill-5.1; History of Chinese Currency-pg. 7, #1. Weight: 16 gms. A partial cube (cut at boundary between two cubes) with fragment of inscription "Ying Yuan", made in what is now Hubei Province. Nice, cleanly cut piece with dark golden tone and blank reverse.
This example was cut from larger bars which allowed for the making of small denominations, in this case, a partial cube was presumably separated from a larger set. Hartill conjectures that these stamped shapes were not meant to be specific weight units, but rather to validate the larger gold block. Historically this is China's first gold currency with a fixed shape and size.
Estimate: $2000.00- $3000.00