Ban liang coin
Qin ・ bronze ・ 3rd century BC ・ Qin
obverse
About the photos
The reverse is not shown on this page. Only the obverse is pictured.
Round outside, square within. Qin brought the money of all under heaven to this one shape. The two characters on the face, 'ban liang' — half a liang — are not ornament but the weight itself: this coin bears its own weight as its name. For the next two thousand years, the copper coin of China kept the round shape with the square hole.