Ancient Chinese Golden Cube Yuan
In 1995, archeologists discovered flat and cubical coins in the Anhwei province. These coins came to scholarly attention during a 6-year excavation that took place at the bottom of the PA-Kung Hills and near tributaries of the Huai River. Because archaeologists found similar pieces bearing other names of various Ch’u cities, it remains highly probable that these cubes represented the standard currency for trade in that state during the period.
This rare gold coin was documented first in 1050 AD, but did not receive special attention from the numismatics community until the year 1878. A linguist named Fang Chun-i deciphered the script on the front of the coins and discovered that they represented fiat currency.
Although scholars knew that the Chinese used symbolic currency during the period, no one knew they used gold coinage this early. The significance of the discovery is that, although historians knew that Chinese strained gold from the nearby Han and Yangtze rivers, the only strategy for procuring pieces large enough to produce these cubes would necessarily indicate the presence of a coordinated and sustained mining effort.
Specialists suggest that the Ancient Chinese produced these coins in a mold made from sand; they measure approximately 5 by 5 CM. It seems that the people minting these coins paid little attention to the initial minting procedure as they did not even bother to consistently fill the molds to their capacity. Each mold produced an artifact with approximately 6 squares etched into it. Those who exchanged the coin likely separated the individual squares at a later date with a sharp, chisel-like instrument as required for exchange.
Many numismatic historians concur that, because the pieces bear a total of three inscriptions, one of which is “Yuan of Ying”. Yuan is still currently used by Chinese monetary systems. The “of Ying” inscription locates the production of the coin any time before 278 B.C. In 278 B.C., invading military pressure from the Ch’in province forced the capital to move further east in the Hunan province for relocation. This period of time signifies one of the longest and most profound fragmentations of the Chinese nation state. A major re-unification occurred in 221 B.C.
Though these ancient, cubic coins rarely come into circulation in western numismatic circles, discoveries like these call the Occidentalist belief in a Greek-centric picture of early civilization into question. As numismatist Lawrence A. Adams jokes, discoveries like this one clarify the fact that, culturally, China has “given us much more than chopsticks and firecrackers.”