A very rare qi xiang tong bao (祺祥通宝) engraved mother coin (雕母) was recently auctioned in Beijing. The Qixiang coins were cast for the shortest period of time and in the smallest quantity of any reign of the Qing Dynasty. Upon the death of the Xianfeng Emperor (咸丰帝) in 1861, his young son Zaichun (载淳) [...]
December 2014
Knife-shaped money (daobi 刀币) was an early form of currency that circulated in the states of Qi (齐国), Yan (燕国) and Zhao (赵国) until the end of the Warring States Period (战国时代 475 BC – 221 BC). The shape of these “coins” evolved from an ancient bronze scraper knife, known as a xue (削刀), which [...]
The Qi Heritage Museum (齐文化博物院) is located in Linzi (临淄) in China’s coastal province of Shandong (山东省). Linzi was the capital city of the ancient State of Qi (1046 BC – 221 BC). In celebration of the Qi Culture Festival, there is a new exhibition of ancient Chinese money at the museum. According to a [...]