Name/Title
BCE 0400 - 0220 CHINA, Warring States Period. Circa 400–220 BCE. Bronze Knife Money. “Ming” / “You Nian”.Description
Warring States Knife Money with “Ming” Inscription (ca. 400–220 BCE)
China
This bronze knife-shaped coin was produced during China’s Warring States period, an era marked by political fragmentation, military conflict, and rapid economic innovation. Rather than adopting a single standardized form of money, different regions experimented with diverse monetary shapes, including spades, knives, and early round coins. Knife money such as this example derives its form from everyday tools, though by this period it functioned solely as currency rather than as a practical implement. The inscription Ming on the blade identifies the type, though the precise issuing state remains uncertain.
The elongated blade and pierced handle echo the structure of an actual knife, reinforcing the object’s symbolic association with value and utility. On the reverse appears the inscription You Nian, part of a classification system used by modern scholars to distinguish varieties within this series. Coins like this circulated alongside other forms of money in a complex and regionally varied economic landscape. They reflect a world in which value was still expressed through familiar material forms, just decades before the Qin dynasty imposed imperial unification and monetary standardization across China.Create Date
July 30, 2025Update Date
May 18, 2026
