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Chinese coins

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Famous Chinese coins, and how to know them

In ChineseWhenHow to know it
Banliang半两 bànliǎngQin dynasty, from 221 BCThe first round coin with a square hole for all China: two characters, “half an ounce”
Wuzhu五铢 wǔzhūHan dynasty, from 118 BC“Five grains” of weight; made for some seven hundred years
Kaiyuan tongbao开元通宝 kāiyuán tōngbǎoTang dynasty, from 621The first 通宝, “circulating treasure”, the pattern for the next 1,300 years
Yuanfeng tongbao元丰通宝 yuánfēng tōngbǎoSong dynasty, 1078–1085Often read round clockwise, and cast in several styles of calligraphy
Kangxi tongbao康熙通宝 kāngxī tōngbǎoQing dynasty, 1662–1722The reign name on the front; the mint’s name in Manchu script on the back
Qianlong tongbao乾隆通宝 qiánlóng tōngbǎoQing dynasty, 1736–1795One of the commonest old coins found today
Five emperor coins五帝钱 wǔdì qiánA charm todayCoins of five Qing reigns, 顺治 to 嘉庆, strung on a red thread for wealth and protection
Yuan Shikai dollar袁大头 Yuán dàtóuFrom 1914A silver dollar with Yuan Shikai’s head: “big-head Yuan”
One yuan coin一元硬币 yì yuán yìngbìTodayA chrysanthemum on one side; the five jiao coin has a lotus and the one jiao an orchid

Coins and money

  1. yìng硬bì币

    coin

  2. qián钱bì币

    coin; money

  3. qián钱

    coin

  4. tóng铜qián钱

    copper coin (with a square hole)

  5. tóng铜bǎn板

    copper coin

  6. yín银yuán元

    silver dollar

  7. yuán袁dà大tóu头

    Yuan Shikai silver dollar

  8. yuán元bǎo宝

    gold or silver ingot (old currency)

  9. rén人mín民bì币

    renminbi; RMB (Chinese currency)

Reading old coins

  1. tōng通bǎo宝

    (old coin inscription) currency coin

  2. guàn贯

    (archaic) string of 1000 cash (old coins)

  3. yī一wén文bù不zhí值

    worthless

  4. zhù铸

    to cast (metal); to found

  5. zhèng正miàn面

    front; facade

  6. bèi背miàn面

    back; reverse side

  7. shōu收cáng藏

    to collect; collection

Money in the characters

  1. bèi贝

    money (ancient)

  2. cái财

    wealth; money

  3. huò货

    money

  4. guì贵

    expensive; costly

  5. mǎi买

    to buy; to purchase

  6. zhuàn赚

    to earn; to make a profit

Units and coins today

  1. yuán元

    yuan (unit of Chinese money)

  2. kuài块

    classifier for money: yuan

  3. jiǎo角

    jiao (one tenth of a yuan)

  4. máo毛

    mao (one tenth of a yuan)

  5. fēn分

    cent (0.01 yuan)

  6. jú菊huā花

    chrysanthemum

  7. hé荷huā花

    lotus

  8. lán兰huā花

    orchid

  9. guó国huī徽

    national emblem

Luck and sayings

  1. fēng风shuǐ水

    feng shui; geomancy

  2. zhāo招cái财

    to attract wealth

  3. yā压suì岁qián钱

    money given to children at Chinese New Year

  4. wài外yuán圆nèi内fāng方

    gentle on the outside, principled inside

Now read them in a real story

十两饺子How to order dumplings in ChineseHSK 1 · 1 minRead it free

How do you read old Chinese coins?

Most cash coins have four characters round the square hole, read top, bottom, right, left: on 乾隆通宝 (Qiánlóng tōngbǎo), 乾 is above the hole, 隆 below, 通 on the right and 宝 on the left. The first two are the reign name, 年号 (niánhào), which dates the coin; the last two say what it is, usually 通宝 (tōngbǎo), circulating treasure, or 元宝 (yuánbǎo) or 重宝 (zhòngbǎo). Some coins, many from the Song, are read round clockwise instead: top, right, bottom, left. On Qing coins the back carries the mint’s name in Manchu.

Why do Chinese coins have a square hole?

So they could be strung together: a string of a thousand coins, a 贯 (guàn), was a common sum, and a single coin was a 文 (wén), which is why 一文不值 (yì wén bù zhí), not worth one coin, means worthless. The square hole also held the coins still on a square rod while their edges were filed. People read meaning into it too: round like heaven outside, square like the earth inside, and 外圆内方 (wài yuán nèi fāng), round outside and square inside, came to mean gentle in manner but firm in principle.

What do Chinese coins on a red string mean?

They are a charm for wealth, 招财 (zhāocái), and for keeping bad luck out, used in feng shui, 风水 (fēngshuǐ). The favourite is the five emperor coins, 五帝钱 (wǔdì qián), from the five Qing reigns of 顺治, 康熙, 雍正, 乾隆 and 嘉庆, when China was strong and rich. Three or five coins tied with red thread are hung by the door, put in a wallet or under a doormat, or tied to a red bracelet.

What was the first Chinese money?

Cowrie shells. That is why so many characters about money have 贝 (bèi), shell, in them: 财 (cái), wealth, 货 (huò), goods, 贵 (guì), expensive, 买 (mǎi), to buy, and 赚 (zhuàn), to earn. In the Zhou dynasty, states cast bronze money in the shape of knives, 刀币 (dāobì), and spades, 布币 (bùbì), until the First Emperor made the round 半两 (bànliǎng) coin the one money of China.

What coins are used in China today?

Coins, 硬币 (yìngbì), of one yuan, 元 (yuán), with a chrysanthemum, 菊花 (júhuā); five jiao, 角 (jiǎo), with a lotus, 荷花 (héhuā); and one jiao with an orchid, 兰花 (lánhuā). Ten jiao make one yuan. In speech a yuan is a 块 (kuài) and a jiao a 毛 (máo), so ¥1.50 is 一块五 (yí kuài wǔ). The fen, 分 (fēn), a hundredth of a yuan, is almost never seen, and most people pay by phone.

How old is my Chinese coin, and is it real?

The reign name in the top and bottom characters tells you which emperor’s name it carries: 康熙 (Kāngxī) is 1662–1722, 乾隆 (Qiánlóng) 1736–1795, and so on. That is where to start, not proof: copies of old coins have been cast for centuries, and many sold as charms today are new. We do not value coins; a coin dealer or museum can.

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More Chinese culture

Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the coins and dates from Wikipedia’s Cash (Chinese coin), Ban Liang, Wu zhu, Kaiyuan Tongbao and Renminbi. We do not date or value coins.