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Knife money

Warring States period　・　bronze　・　4th century BC　・　Qi, Yan and Zhao

Knife money（obverse）
Gary Todd / CC0（Wikimedia Commons）

Bronze money in the shape of a knife with a ring at the hilt. It is not a blade for cutting, but money that copies the form of the tool. It circulated in Qi, Yan and Zhao, and each state gave it a different length and inscription. Before money settled into being round, in China the shape of a tool was itself the shape of value.