China - Wu Zhu Cash Coin - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 15 / Views: 3,497
Gil-galad Pillar of the Community United States 2044 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 09:26 am This is a generic Wu Zhu or Wu Shu coin that was minted for a long time between 118 BC - 617 AD. This coin here has the basic Wu Zhu characters - "eŠ-. It also has a inside rim and maybe a very worn rim on the outside which might help in it's attribution. I think this coin has a nice dark patina which is why I purchased it. Again, the photo is the seller's. It's in the mail and I should have it soon, hopefully. Edited by Gil-galad 01/05/2013 09:28 am Report this Post to the Staff

sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 09:38 am These coins, being rather simply cast as originals, can be easily faked. Curiously, I have never heard or seen any fakes of these. Report this Post to the Staff
Gil-galad Pillar of the Community United States 2044 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 09:41 am I am aware that these coins can be easily faked. I am confident about this particular coin being real because of how it looks. And if it is found to be fake I can get a refund for it as I got it from a VCoins dealer. I saw a lot of them on ebay but I really don't trust most of those. Report this Post to the Staff
bobbyhelmet Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2838 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 09:42 am Great, enjoying seeing these. On another note how is it our forum can handle Chinese characters but not Greek Report this Post to the Staff
Gil-galad Pillar of the Community United States 2044 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 09:44 am Unfortunately, some characters it can't handle. Wu Zhu doesn't come out right. äº"eŠ- Report this Post to the Staff
dougsmit Pillar of the Community United States 1549 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 10:03 am After a very short venture into cash, I decided they were not for me. Great emphasis is placed on calligraphy styles which can assign mint locations and closer dates in some cases but I was unable to understand how these distinctions were made and how it mattered to me. For example, below are two of my Whu Shu. Both are from the major group having a thick rim on the obverse only at the top of the hole. The OP is different. Note the differences in the wu (right character - hourglass shape)in terms of the corners and fatness of the X shape. The right part of the shu shows a difference in the shoulders of the forks being squared or rounded. These are important to calligraphers. I prefer seeing variable portraits of Roman emperors. While I enjoy having a few sample cash, I don't see myself learning enough about them to be called a student. There have been some very pretty (blue, even) patinas on some recent examples hitting the market. They are common enough that you can get very nice ones cheaply. There are even some variations that were cut in half so each half could still be strung with a group. I do not have one of the outer halves to show. Report this Post to the Staff
Gil-galad Pillar of the Community United States 2044 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 10:09 am I'm not going to be specializing in ancient Chinese coins, but I want a few of them. There are a few more that I'm going to purchase later on but that's about it. I'm sticking to Romans, Greek, etc coins for the most part. That's the thing, most of these coins are fairly cheap so I can get a few of them. $2-$10 is something I can afford. Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 12:57 pm This is a very nice looking coin and I believe that it's from the Western Han dynasty circa 118 BC, The shape of the WU character is a way to tell if it's Eastern or Western Han. The Western Han has more right angle strokes while the Eastern Han are more curved. It's nice others interested in ancient Chinese coins, I thought I was the only one here. Report this Post to the Staff
Windchild Pillar of the Community Canada 1411 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 1:20 pm Interesting... and at that price... affordable! Report this Post to the Staff
Gil-galad Pillar of the Community United States 2044 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 3:57 pm Yep, I like Chinese coins which is why I'm going to get a few more later on but I'm not going to specialize in them. So, you guys will see a few more later on. Just one more to post today and that's it. echizento: I think you're right about the date of the coin. This one looks like one of the earlier Wu Zhu coins, and based on how the characters are engraved. Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 4:27 pm Some 30 years ago, I bought a job lot of about 100 Chinese cash of various dynasties, which cost me about $15 for the lot at the time. Reviewing them occasionally since then leaves me convinced that they are all genuine. I have just about doubled the size of the cash collection, since the original acquisition, but I won't buy these pieces unless I can have them at a really low price. Nevertheless, I am forced to still consider my a student with much to learn, and that is why I won't pay large prices for these coins. I need more confidence to be happy that each coin I acquire is not fake, and that is the reason why I am not prepared to pay big money for these pieces. The Chinese have a notorious reputation for producing excellent fakes in other areas of numismatics. I have never paid more than a dollar for any of these. Consequently, I have not added to this part of my collection for about five years now. I have examples from almost all emperors since the period of the Wu Shu. I use Schjoth to assist me in the determination of the various types. The acquisition of the book was a saga in itself. Edited by sel_69l 01/05/2013 4:30 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Gil-galad Pillar of the Community United States 2044 Posts	Posted 01/05/2013 11:38 pm As much as I would like to own more books, coins often come first due to a low budget. All the books I need will cost a few grand and I don't have it. If you feel like reviewing some of my coins with the Schjoth book, I would appreciate it. Report this Post to the Staff
bobbyhelmet Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2838 Posts	Posted 01/06/2013 12:00 am Look what you made me do Gil Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 01/06/2013 12:42 am bobbyhelmet: Those are all far better quality coins than mine! With cash coins most of the fun is in correctly attributing them. When that happens, I get the feeling of 'esprit de corps', otherwise known as 'satisfaction'. (Schjoth helps). Report this Post to the Staff
Gil-galad Pillar of the Community United States 2044 Posts	Posted 01/06/2013 01:45 am bobbyhelmet: Nice Wu Zhu and Tang Dynasty coins! Not a problem, get as many as you like. Apparently, a few people like them. lol Report this Post to the Staff
Gil-galad Pillar of the Community United States 2044 Posts	Posted 01/11/2013 10:32 am Report this Post to the Staff
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