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  The Chinese began casting money, in some form, over 2500 years ago. These may have taken the form of spades, knives and then later the round currency with the beloved square hole that we are more accustomed to seeing. Casting, was a cheap form of mass production that used sand or clay molds into which a molten copper mix was poured. Early coin molds would have been set up in a coin tree configuration. Picture an empty channel in the sand with multiple coin molds on either side. They would simply pour the molten bronze material into the channel which, in turn, ran into the molds. After cooling you have a solid coin tree. The coins would have then been taken from the tree and....this is where the hole comes in....then a square dowel would be run through the hole to allow the edges of 100s of coins to be filed at once. And there you have it...simplified coin casting 101.

   If you have the collecting addition then Chinese coins are a dream. There are about 2000 years worth of coins that are reasonably available and relatively inexpensive, with the exception of the rarities of course. This includes different dynasties, emperors, reign titles, calligraphic styles, weights, sizes and so on. The choices are nearly endless.

   Can't read Chinese? That's OK, either can I. But it doesn't take that much to become familiar with the basic characters. And we are fortunate enough to have the internet which links us to reference materials, pics and other people, so collecting the common stuff is pretty painless and alot of fun.

   Reading Chinese coins 101:

   1st learn to recognize four characters:

  -Yuan - means inaugural, first, new

  -Tung - means general, universal, current

  -Zhong - means heavy

  -Bao - means currency, precious, jewel

  Most coins from the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) and later will have 2 of the 4 of these symbols. They will generally either be a Yuan Bao, Tung Bao or Zhong Bao; an inaugural currency, a general currency or a heavy currency. Pre-Tang cash coins will generally have 2 symbols which are different from those above and will be read from right to left. But for now we will keep it simple and focus on the later coins. 

  The other 2 symbols will generally be the Emperor's name or his/her Reign Title (nian hao). If Bob Smith became Emperor of China his coins may be called Bob Smith's Inaugural Currency or Bob Smith's Yuan Bao. He may also pick a Reign Title. He may want to be known as the Heavenly One then his coins may be called Heavenly One's General Currency or Heavenly One's Tung Bao. Note: 1 Emperor may have several reign titles.

   Now, which symbols are which on the coin? The 4 symbols will be read in 1 of 2 ways: From 12:00 to 6:00 then 3:00 to 9:00, with the 12:00 & 6:00 characters being the Emperor's Name/Reign Title then the 3:00 & 9:00 characters being the currency type (yuan bao, tung bao or zhong bao). Or on the Clockwise types the 12:00 & 3:00 characters would be the Emperor's Name/Reign Title with the 6:00 & 9:00 positions being the currency type. How do you tell which way to read it? Well the Bao will always be at 9:00 so look for the Yuan, Tung or Zhong then from it's position use process of elimination. This method of identification will work for most Chinese cash coins however not all. Some coins will have both a Yuan and a Tung or a Zhong and a Yuan. For these you are just going to have to look up until you are familiar with them.  People who are smarter and more versed that I have identified the proper order from contemporary writings. This brings me to my next topic.

   To identify the symbols on the coins to the emperor and years of casting requires reference material. Fortunately, there are many who have a passion for this stuff and have spent untold hours studying, notating and compiling data into books for us to purchase so that we may continue the learning process. Try these books in this order:

  -Cast Chinese Coins by David Hartill

  -Chinese Currency by Fredrik Schjoth

  -Fisher's Ding by George Fisher

  -Chinese Cash by David Jen

  All are in English as, I mentioned before, I don't read Chinese either. For good sources  to purchase reference material try:

  Scott Semans World coins at: www.coincoin.com

  Bob Reis at: www.anythinganywhere.com

   A few words about fakes: Unfortunately there are plenty of fake coins coming out of the East. If you wish to collect Chinese coins then I would start out with the lower priced stuff, buy from sellers that will "guarantee geniune" & stand behind their products. If a seller won't step up then that is an indicator. Also, always exercise some common sense. For example: $50 coins don't go for $5 if they are real, even on ebay. There is no such thing as a 1000 year old MINT condition coin that was originally cast for circulation. If it seems to good to be true then it probably is.

   I hope that this information has been helpful to those who have an interest but don't know where to start. Whether you are interested in a coin here and there, or wish to collect by Dynasty or type, I hope your will checkout my growing inventory of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese cash currency. Wanna know who did what and when? Click on the Timeline below.