Watch List notes:

CHINA: AE charm (29.86g), CCH II-1776, 44mm, Daoist curse charm, tai shang zhou yue tian yuan di fang / liu lü jiu zhang / fu shen dao chu wan gui / mie wang ji (ji) ru lü ling chi ("Lao Zi [Lao-Tzu] curses thus: The Heaven is round and the earth is square / The Nine Songs of the Six Temperaments / The spirit of the magic writing will destroy the ten thousand ghosts everywhere / Let it be executed as fast as legal code"), Daoist magic writing on either side // magic writing to left, Daoist god Zhenwu to right, yin-yang symbol with bagua trigrams above, VF. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), Zhenwu was known as Xuanwu and was depicted as a tortoise encircled by a snake. This symbol represented the north direction. Over the centuries this symbol gradually evolved and by the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD) had developed into the very popular warrior god Zhenwu associated with healing and protection. We know this is Zhenwu because he is standing on a tortoise with a snake around it. This charm is well-worn but if you look carefully at Zhenwu's feet you will see an oval-shaped object (tortoise). The head and neck of the tortoise is pointed towards the left at about the 5 o'clock position and about half way between the round center hole and the rim. Just above the head of the tortoise is the head of the snake.

Estimate: 75-100 USD