Discussion On Classification Of Ban Liang Coin

Ban Liang Coin was firstly minted in the Warring States Period, which was originally used in Qin state, and became the legal tender across the country after Qin unified China, playing an important role in Chinese currency history. It appeared early in China, with a long circulation time. It has some special features, such as a square hole inside a circle, unadorned flavor, forceful characters, and great differences in various versions. Nearly all of the Ban Liang Coins are different, constituting a complex and rich monetary system. In this paper, Ban Liang Coins are divided into seven parts, such as Ban Liang Coin of the Warring States Period, Ban Liang Coin of Qin Dynasty, Ban Liang Coin of early Han dynasty, Eight-zhu Ban Liang Coin of Gaohou Year, Wu Fen Coin of Gaohou Year, Si Zhu Coin of Emperor Wen of Han Year, and Si Zhu Coin of Emperor Wu Year. Each part is discussed from three aspects. The first part introduces the basic conditions of typical tombs, relics, or cellaring with unearthed Ban Liang Coin. In the second part, the brief introduction and analysis is conducted on the measured data, like diameter, weight, characters, and crafts, to conclude the general characters of Ban Liang Coin in that period. The third part is to search from an appropriate viewpoint for the classification of Ban Liang Coin, based on the characteristics during that period.