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A large number of Wu Zhu (五銖) cash coins on display at the "Dazzling Life: Archaeological Finds of the Marquis of Haihun State in Han Dynasty. March 2, 2016 to June 2, 2016." (五色炫耀——南昌汉代海昏侯国考古成果展。2016年3月2日至6月2日，首都博物馆。) exhibition at the Capital Museum, Beijing.
The list of coin hoards in China (traditional Chinese: 中國錢幣窖藏清單; simplified Chinese: 中国钱币窖藏列表; pinyin: zhōng guó qián bì jiào cáng liè biǎo) lists significant archaeological hoards of coins, other types of coinages (e.g. sycees) or objects related to coins discovered in China (the People's Republic of China in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Free area of the Republic of China, e.g. Taiwan). The history of Chinese currency dates back as early as the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE), and the earliest coinages took the form of imitations of the cowrie shells that were used in ceremonial exchanges. During the Warring States period new forms of currency such as the spade money, knife money, and round copper-alloy coins were introduced (further reading: Zhou dynasty coinage and Ancient Chinese coinage). After unification of China under the Qin dynasty in 221 BC the Ban Liang (半兩) cash coin became the standard coinage, under the Han dynasty the Wu Zhu (五銖) cash coins became the main currency of China until they were replaced with the Kaiyuan Tongbao (開元通寳) during the Tang dynasty, after which a large number of inscriptions were used on Chinese coinages. During the late nineteenth century China started producing its own machine-struck coinages.
In Chinese culture coins are often used as burial objects and it's not uncommon for coins to be discovered in tombs and graves.
Occasionally foreign coins are also found in China, which were brought there through international trade routes such as the silk road, overseas trade with foreign countries, and colonialism. And because of trade with other countries large quantities of Chinese coins have also been found in neighbouring countries like Japan, Korea,[1] and Vietnam,[2][3] as well as far away places like Elcho Island,[4] Kenya,[5][6] and Yukon.[7]
In 2021 a paper was published about an old mint that was discovered at an archeological site in Henan Province, through radiocarbon-dating the spade money found there was attributed to have been created between 640 BCE and no later than 550 BCE making it possibly the world's oldest known mint.[8] This means that it is possible that the earliest known coinage was invented by the Chinese and not the Lydians as is commonly believed.[8][9]
^Lee Hana (January 21, 2016). "2,000-year-old Chinese coins unearthed in Gwangju". Korea.net. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
^"100kg of ancient Chinese coins unearthed in Vietnam". Noel Tan for the Southeast Asian Archeology Newsblog (through Thanh Nien News). September 7, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
^"34kg of ancient coins unearthed in Vietnam". Noel Tan for the Southeast Asian Archeology Newsblog (through Vietnam Net Bridge). November 9, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
^Xavier La Canna (August 10, 2014). "Old coin shows early Chinese contact with Aboriginal people in Elcho Island near Arnhem Land: expert". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved April 12, 2020.
^"Could a rusty coin re-write Chinese-African history?". BBC News. October 17, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
^Rachel Nuwer (March 15, 2013). "Six Centuries Ago, Chinese Explorers Left This Coin Behind in Africa – Emperor Yongle was perhaps best known for starting the initial construction of Beijing's Forbidden City, but he also sent huge fleets of ships, under the command of admiral Zheng He, out across the ocean to faraway lands". SmartNews – Keeping you current. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
^Credited as "Yukon News NetWriter". (September 11, 2015). "Chinese coin presents riddle in Yukon bush". Kaogu (考古) – Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (中国社会科学院考古研究所). Retrieved April 10, 2020.
^ abJILLIAN KRAMER (PHOTOGRAPHS BY HAO ZHAO) (August 5, 2021). "'World's oldest' coin factory discovered in China. - If confirmed, the 2,600-year-old mint could rewrite the history of money. Spade-shaped coins, unearthed at the site of an ancient bronze foundry in China's Henan Province, are the oldest known Chinese metal currency and possibly the first in the world". National Geographic. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021. Archaeologists excavating the remains of Guanzhuang—an ancient city in China's eastern Henan Province—have discovered what they believe is the oldest-known coin mint, where miniature, shovel-shaped bronze coins were mass produced some 2,600 years ago. Their research, published today in the journal Antiquity, gives weight to the idea that the first coins were minted not in Turkey or Greece, as long thought, but in China.
^Livia Gershon (August 9, 2021). "Cool Finds - World's Oldest Known Coin Mint Found in China. - The 2,600-year-old site produced highly standardized "spade money," possibly on government orders". Smithsonian. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
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