Chinese coin reference listing

REFERENCE & PRICE GUIDE

We offer this reference guide to Chinese coins with the hope of promoting greater understanding and appreciation these coins. THIS IS NOT A LIST OF COINS OFFERED FOR SALE, but we do keep a selection available in the Chinese and S.E. Asian directory of our : our vcoins store.

Note that this is a work in progress with new information being added regularly, but will take years to complete. Please be patient and check back regularly.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE

Major references used : S - Schjoth (Chinese Currency), FD - Fisher's Ding, COOLE - (assorted volumes), SE - Shanghai Encyclopedia (assorted volumes), Robert Tye - Wang Mang, Mitchiner - Oriental Coins and Their Values (volumes 1 to 3), H -Hartill Chinese Cast Currency.
"Bronze" is used to refer to all copper-alloy's. Coins cast of other metals will be noted.
In most cases, old style translations are used on this site. The new style is better, but few English-language references use it and cross referencing would be confusing. At some time we hope to modify this site to adopt the new style, but this is probably several years away.
Images are chosen to represent only types and can be larger or smaller than the actual coins, with actual sizes included in most descriptions soon.
Valuations are in Canadian dollars and in most cases reflect the market as of AD 2002 when most of this site was last worked. We are slowly upgrading this information as it becomes available, but that is a very slow process.

REFERENCE GUIDE INDEX

If you wish to find some information on a particular coin but you don't know what the coin is, try our Identification Guide which is currently under construction and while very far from complete might point you in the right direction.

You may browse through the entire listing if you Start Here and follow the "next page" links at the end of each page.

Or, the following index can be used as a short cut to specific areas if you know something about the coin to start with :

THE ARCHAIC PERIOD KNIFE AND SPADE MONEY 700 BC TO 255 BC	Zhou Dynasty - prior to 255 BC
UNIFICATION OF CHIN & HAN 255 BC TO AD 221	Chin Dynasty - 255 BC to AD 206 Western Han Dynasty - 206 BC to AD 25 Hsin Dynasty (Wang Mang) - AD 7 to 22 Eastern Han Dynasty - AD 25 to 221
WU SHU VARIETIES 118 BC TO AD 617	The Generic Ancient Coinage
EPOCH OF THREE KINGDOMS AD 221 TO 280	Wei Dynasty - AD 221 to 265 Minor Han Dynasty - AD 221 to 265 Wu Dynasty - AD 229 to 265
UNIFICATION OF CHIN AD 280 TO 316	Western Chin Dynasty - AD 265 to 420
DIVISION OF NORTH & SOUTH THE SOUTHERN DYNASTIES AD 316 TO 589	Eastern Chin Dynasty - AD 316 to 420 Sung Dynasty - AD 420 to 479 Liang Dynasty - AD 502 to 557 Chen Dynasty - AD 557 to 582
DIVISION OF NORTH & SOUTH THE NORTHERN DYNASTIES AD 316 TO 589	Huo Chao Dynasty - AD 307-352 Northern Wei Dynasty - AD 386 to 550 Northern Ch'i Dynasty - AD 550 to 577 Northern Zhou Dynasty - AD 557 to 581
UNIFICATION OF SUI AND T'ANG AD 589 TO 907	Sui Dynasty - AD 589 to 618 T'ang Dynasty - AD 618 to 907 T'ang Rebels - AD 757 to 761
THE FIVE DYNASTIES & TEN KINGDOMS AD 907 TO 978	Posterior Han Dynasty - AD 947 to 950 Anterior Shu Dynasty - AD 907 to 960 Southern Han Dynasty - AD 917 to 942 Southern T'ang Dynasty - 937 to 978 Posterior Zhou Dynasty - 951 to 960 Ch'u Dynasties - AD 930 to 970 Coins of Uncertain Dynasties
SUNG COINS AD 960 to 1280	Northern Sung Dynasty - AD 960 to 1127 Southern Sung Dynasty - AD 1127 to 1280
LATE MEDIEVAL COINS AD 960 to 1644	Liao Dynasty - AD 907 to 1125 Western Hsia Dynasty - AD 982 to 1227 Chin, the Nu-chen Tartars - AD 1115 to 1260 Yuan (Mongol) - AD 1280 to 1368 Ming Dynasty - AD 1368 to 1644 Ming Rebels - AD 1644 to 1681
MODERN COINS AFTER AD 1644	The Ching Dynasty - AD 1644 to 1911