China, Xin Dynasty, Emperor Wang Mang, Spade Money - 14 CE - Imperial China

Includes glass top leatherette display box. Origin: Imperial China Authority: Wang Mang, the sole emperor of the Xin dynasty Date: 14 CE Denomination: 26 Huo Quan (equal to 25 smaller bronze coins) Type Number: Hartill 9.3 in David Hartill's "Cast Chinese Coins" Obverse: 貨布 (huo bu, or money spade) written in bronzeware script, vertical line between characters Reverse: Blank Notes: Spade money (Chinese: 布幣 or bù bì) is a rare form of early Chinese proto-money that entered the historical record around 1200 BCE, before the widespread adoption of coins in China. They demonstrate a link between bartering with farming tools and the use of true money, as early forms of spade money were meant to resemble functional tools and even included sockets to be fitted onto wood handles. Gradually though, spade money became thinner, flatter, and less utilitarian, a path that would lead to the evolution of standard coinage. Spade money was abolished in favor of Ban Liang coins during the Qin dyn