The unearthed bronze coin molds and the evolution of coin technology in the Warring States period and Qin-Han dynasties
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Juan Huang
Abstract
Coin-minting models and molds can be classified into grand master patterns, master patterns, and casting molds, based on function. The archaeological data available at present show that the bronze coin molds are mainly master patterns and casting molds. This paper makes an as complete as possible collection of archaeologically unearthed bronze molds from the Warring States period to the Qin-Han dynasty, and then classifies them based on coin-minting technology and their functions and forms. After that, the ways to make the molds and to use them to mint coins, as well as the development procedure from vertical mold assembly technology to stack-casting technology are observed. Finally, the social background of the evolution of the coin-minting technology in this period is discussed.
Postscript
This article published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 2018.5:109–20 with three illustrations was authored by Juan Huang 黄娟. This abridged version is translated into English by Edward Allen 安达.
References
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© 2020 Walter De Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Qingtang site in Yingde City, Guangdong Province
- The Wangjiabang cemetery of the Chenghe site of the Neolithic Age in Shayang County, Hubei Province
- The Lushanmao site of the Neolithic Age in Yan’an City, Shaanxi Province
- The Liujiawa site of the Rui state of the Eastern Zhou in Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province
- The Chengba site in Quxian County, Sichuan Province
- The Taizicheng city site of the Jin dynasty in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province
- Reports
- The excavation of Zone III of the Xiaonanshan site in Raohe County, Heilongjiang Province in 2015
- The excavation of tomb M2158 at the Hengshui cemetery of the Western Zhou dynasty in Jiangxian County, Shanxi Province
- The excavation of a Buddhist temple complex of the Qocho Uyghur kingdom in the middle of the west zone of the Tuyoq caves in Shanshan County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
- Research
- On cupstones in South China
- Study on the burial practice of tomb M13 of the Yangshao culture at Baligang site in Dengzhou City
- On the source “composition” of the bronze vessels in the burials of the Yinxu site
- Shang dynasty bronzes and society in southern China: an illustration of complexity and diversity
- The unearthed bronze coin molds and the evolution of coin technology in the Warring States period and Qin-Han dynasties
- The “bowl-shaped” bloomeries of Pingnan County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the origins of “bowl-shaped” bloomery in China
- On the early lokapāla statues in the Buddhist sculptures unearthed in Chengdu
- The Shangjing norm of the Liao dynasty and the Dongjing mode of the Northern Song dynasty
- Identification of domestic chicken bones in archaeological sites
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Qingtang site in Yingde City, Guangdong Province
- The Wangjiabang cemetery of the Chenghe site of the Neolithic Age in Shayang County, Hubei Province
- The Lushanmao site of the Neolithic Age in Yan’an City, Shaanxi Province
- The Liujiawa site of the Rui state of the Eastern Zhou in Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province
- The Chengba site in Quxian County, Sichuan Province
- The Taizicheng city site of the Jin dynasty in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province
- Reports
- The excavation of Zone III of the Xiaonanshan site in Raohe County, Heilongjiang Province in 2015
- The excavation of tomb M2158 at the Hengshui cemetery of the Western Zhou dynasty in Jiangxian County, Shanxi Province
- The excavation of a Buddhist temple complex of the Qocho Uyghur kingdom in the middle of the west zone of the Tuyoq caves in Shanshan County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
- Research
- On cupstones in South China
- Study on the burial practice of tomb M13 of the Yangshao culture at Baligang site in Dengzhou City
- On the source “composition” of the bronze vessels in the burials of the Yinxu site
- Shang dynasty bronzes and society in southern China: an illustration of complexity and diversity
- The unearthed bronze coin molds and the evolution of coin technology in the Warring States period and Qin-Han dynasties
- The “bowl-shaped” bloomeries of Pingnan County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the origins of “bowl-shaped” bloomery in China
- On the early lokapāla statues in the Buddhist sculptures unearthed in Chengdu
- The Shangjing norm of the Liao dynasty and the Dongjing mode of the Northern Song dynasty
- Identification of domestic chicken bones in archaeological sites
