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| BACKWARD | INDEX | HISTORY | FORWARD |
| Emergence of Japanese Currency---1. Origin of Japanese Currency |
| half tael | (around 221 B.C.) bronze |
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 m scale/Size A4 n |
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| Wu Zhu | (around 2c B.C.) bronze |
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m scale/Size A4 n |
| Round-shaped bronze coin with square hole from ancient China, the origin of Japanese currency. |
| Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty who unified northern China, unified the shape, measure and script of money as well as the monetary system, then in disarray, by minting "half tael" round shaped bronze coins with a square hole in the center around 221 B.C.. This shape of coins was employed by the Han Dynasty which succeeded the Qin Dynasty. The "Wu Zhu" bronze coin minted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty became the standard model in size and weight for Chinese coins thereafter. East Asian countries, including Japan, minted their coins modeled after Chinese coins, so the shape and size of coins in East Asian countries were very similar to those in China. |
