This is a type of money spent in the Qing Dynasty called Bagua money
Spending money was called weary money or pressure money in ancient times. Today it is also called play money, auspicious money, and folk money. , its material is mainly metal. There have always been endless debates about the definition of spending money. We believe that spending money can be divided into a narrow sense and a broad sense: Spending money in the narrow sense refers to all non-circulating money-like objects that have the functions of wearing and enjoying and have auspicious meanings. This type of spending is considered orthodox spending. Spending money in a broad sense refers to all non-circulating money-like objects and non-money-shaped objects that have the function of being worn and enjoyed. For example, horse money, chess money, and "ancient money" invented by the ancients, which are game items, can be classified as money because they have the shape of money; another example is that although the hanging tag no longer has the shape of money, it has the functions of wearing and viewing. It has auspicious meanings and therefore also falls under the category of spending money.
Compared with other ancient works of art, spending money has a shorter history. The currently recognized originator of spending money appeared in the Han Dynasty, such as Yizi Banliang and Taichang Banliang. Their openings are all diamond-shaped, which should be Han people spend money on wearing them for two purposes: one is to look beautiful, and the other is to always keep the money-style writing correct when wearing them. From Wang Mang to the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were many types of money spent on money, but the quantity was very small. Typical examples include five baht, Daquan's fifty sides with auspicious words on the back, or regular patterns and star patterns, etc. In the Han Dynasty, there was also a kind of hanging money (some said it was a buckle). There was a large round ring on the money and a small square ring under the money. The inscriptions on the money were mostly "Earn a thousand gold pieces a day, never forget each other forever" and "Get rid of evil and go to the central government." , There is no way to prepare troops." According to records, such money was unearthed in Shanxi Han tombs in Fuquan, Shanghai and Han tombs in Inner Mongolia. The emergence of hanging money also shows that the most primitive and basic function of spending money is to wear it. There is also a kind of "printing money". The bottom is a seal, and the print is connected with a dollar. This thing is recorded in the old money catalog as a disgusting product. We think it should not be classified as spending money, because its main function is to seal, and the top is a seal. The "spending money" is just a seal!
The types and amounts of money spent from the Han Dynasty to the Six Dynasties were very rare. This may be due to the frequent wars during this period, and the custom of wearing money to spend money was not yet popular among the people. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Shu Kingdom minted a kind of Taiping Hundred Coins with water waves and stars on the back. In recent years, some researchers have included it as spending money. Although it has patterns on the back, its nature is circulation currency, so it is essentially the same as spending money. the difference. There is also a kind of Taiqing Fengle (also read Tianqing Fengle) money, which some researchers have designated as auspicious words to spend money on. However, in recent years, thousands of such coins have been unearthed in Jiangsu at one time. If money was spent, there would not be such a large discovery. Quantity, so its nature should also be currency in circulation. After Yong'an in the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were two types of Yong'an five men carrying four spirit coins, large and small. The pictures on their backs are full of spirit and have the style of the Six Dynasties. The inscriptions on their faces should be from Yong'an five baht. They are actually auspicious words for people to pray for more children. This kind of money is not very rare in the world, but most of it is a later reprint. The auspicious saying of "five men and two women" was popular in the Song Dynasty, and this kind of money may have been recast.
Most of the money spent in the Tang Dynasty was money-related, such as Kaiyuan Tongbao gold and silver coins. In 1970, 30 coins and 421 silver coins were unearthed from the cellar of the Wangfu site in Hejia Village, Xi'an (also unearthed were Yong'an coins). Five men and four spiritual coins), these gold and silver coins may be reward money from the palace. According to "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", Concubine Yang accepted An Lushan as her godson and gave her "gold and silver money to launder her son". These "launder her son's money" "Maybe it's Kaiyuan Tongbao gold and silver coins or something like that. Other Tang Dynasty money writings include "getting one yuanbao on the back with four clouds" and "shuntian yuanbao with four stars in lace". "Quanzhi" records that when Princess Jingshan of the Tang Dynasty got married, she had a piece of money with the inscription "Longevity and wealth" written on it. What we see today are all made by later generations who copied the old records. The so-called "spreading tent money" is a kind of auspicious spending money used in ancient weddings. "Tokyo Menghualu" contains: In the old wedding, after the husband and wife had finished paying homage and sat on the edge of the bed, the woman threw money and colorful fruits, which was called "spreading tent money". ". The money thrown is "throwing money".
There was little money spent during the troubled times of the Five Dynasties. We believe that the "Datang Town Treasury" money cast in the Southern Tang Dynasty, which was highly valued by the ancients, was most likely a figment of later generations, because there was no such thing before the Qing Dynasty. I heard that there is a saying of "treasury town". Even if there is money to town the treasury, it is a very serious and sacred matter. The fonts used should be dignified and steady. How could it be that the money's writing is so clumsy and weird? It would be easy to understand if it is a fabrication. In order to satisfy the curiosity of collectors, the forger will naturally pursue strange and weird styles.
With the popularity of Taoism and the unprecedented development of culture and art in the Song Dynasty, spending money also flourished. Most of them were Taoist themes, such as Xingguan zodiac money, birth money, charm money, etc.
The origin of Xingguan Qian is very complicated. The so-called "Xingguan" is the Taoist name for deifying the stars. In ancient my country, the heavenly stems and earthly branches were used to record the years. The year is someone's "birth year", also known as "birth year". Taoism later transformed and deified the sixty-year-old constellation, and thus the natal soul or natal star official appeared. Perhaps because sixty souls or star officials were too troublesome, they were simply simplified into twelve souls or star officials based on the twelve zodiac signs. Of course, each soul and star official had to take charge of each zodiac sign. In addition, in Taoism, there is a theory of the Five Star Lords in the east, west, south, north and middle. These five star Lords can also be called "star officials". Among them, the Big Dipper Lord has seven stars, which are responsible for the twelve zodiac signs. These "seven stars" can also be called star officials. It is really difficult to determine who the star official in the money is. Judging from the physical objects of star official spending, there are mainly two categories: one is a single-faced star official with the twelve zodiac signs on it. This kind of money generally does not have the words "natal star official", but it is undoubtedly star official money. The other type is a set of twelve, with each star official corresponding to twelve zodiac signs. There are usually words such as "birth star official" or "birth soul" on the money.
Shou Sheng Qian is also called longevity money. Taoism preaches that when a person is born (reborn), he borrows Luku Shou Sheng Money from the underworld, and he must set up a dojo to return it after birth. There are 12 treasuries in Mingsi Luku, and 12 surnamed Cao officials are in charge of them. In the Song Dynasty, there were 12 coins in a set for receiving students. On one side, there was a written record of how much money was owed and in which treasury. On the other side, there were figures (should be the Cao officials in charge of each treasury). Their uses should be similar to the natal star official coins. Ask for his blessing.
talisman money refers to money cast with Taoist runes and spells. Talismans are a type of text symbols and spells created by Taoism that claim to be able to exorcise ghosts and avoid evil. Because of their magical power, talisman-like flowers are There was a market for money in the Song Dynasty. A common talisman money during this period was Xuanwu reciting Taishang's curse saying "The sky is round and the place is six laws and nine chapters...". This kind of spell should be exclusive to Xuanwu. In later generations, Xuanwu used it to spend money. Kind of spell.
The most popular Taoist figures who spent money in the Song Dynasty, apart from the star officials, were "Xuanwu" and "Erlang". It is shaped like a tortoise and a snake. It was personified in the Song Dynasty and became the great god of the north. During the Song Dynasty, there was a legend that "Xuanwu" was the general of the heavenly palace. During the reign of Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, "Xuanwu" was renamed "Zhenwu" to avoid the taboo of the "sacred ancestor" Zhao Xuanlang. And named him "Zhenwu Lingying Zhenjun". The origin of "Erlang" is very complicated. There are currently many theories such as "Li Bing's second son", "Zhao Yu", "Yang Jian" and so on. Maybe the people at that time couldn't tell who it was, and the Taoist "god creation" was really confusing. In the Song Dynasty, "Erlang" and "Xuanwu" were both very popular, and "Erlang" and "Xuanwu" were often seen together in money.
In addition to Taoist themes, many sub-themes such as five men and two women and pictures of babies playing were also popular in the Song Dynasty. During the Southern Song Dynasty, some exquisite auspicious coins also appeared. In addition, the Song Dynasty also cast some antique coins to spend money, such as "Five Elements Big Cloth Back Turtle Snake Sword", "Changping Five Baht Back Seven Stars", "Zhou Yuan Tong Bao Back High Relief Dragon and Phoenix", etc., which are often unearthed from Song tombs and Song Dynasty cellars. Report.
Around the late Northern Song Dynasty, many game products appeared, including horse money, chess money, and fairy money.
Ma Qian, also known as Ma Qian, is a popular game in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Li Qingzhao introduced the gameplay of "Yi Jing Ma" in "The Book of Horse Fighting". The game is a bit like flying chess, with a chessboard (horse fight picture) and chess pieces (horse money). Everyone takes turns rolling the dice and moving the chess pieces. The difference is that horse playing is for gambling purposes, with posts used as chips, and the rules of horse playing are much more complicated than flying chess. Although the game of horse racing was lost in the late Ming Dynasty, horse money as a game has been preserved and has become a very distinctive type of money. The horse pictures contained in it are in various poses, some are arrogant, some are serene and docile, some are lying down, some are standing, some are running or flying, and they have high artistic appreciation value. It is also cast with the names of ancient famous horses and famous generals, and can be regarded as a "commemorative medal" of ancient famous horses and famous generals.
Selecting immortal money is also an ancient gambling item. In terms of shape, it can be divided into two types: round and square. Round ones are divided into two types: pierced and not pierced. Most of them are without piercing. Judging from the content, there are characters such as the Poetry Immortal, the Chess Immortal, the Qin Immortal, the Pot Immortal, the Bazhai Immortal, the Queen Mother, Manqian, Shuangcheng, etc., all with five-character quatrains on the back, which are elegant and lovely.
Chess money is like chess pieces, which are divided into two types: double-sided characters and one-sided pictures. According to research, chess was finalized in the Song Dynasty. The chess pieces in the Song Dynasty are slightly different from today's chess pieces. There are no soldiers, officials, prime ministers and commanders. When playing chess, one party may hold the word and the other the picture; if the chess pieces have full characters on both sides, They may be distinguished by color such as applying cinnabar.
In the Song Dynasty, hollow money, secret drama, and ghost money also appeared.
The hollow money coins are open-carved, exquisite and elegant. The patterns of hollow coins in the Song Dynasty were mostly flowers, two phoenixes chasing each other, and pairs of dragons (the bottom of the dragon head and the top of the tail facing each other), etc.
Secret opera money refers to money with patterns of male and female intercourse. Secret opera money in the Song Dynasty was generally small, with very few quantities and types.
Mingqian refers to the burial objects specially made for burials to replace circulating currency. During the Southern Song Dynasty, more than a hundred coins were unearthed from An Bing's tomb in Sichuan at one time. Most of them were made of thin gold and silver sheets and were inscribed on one side with auspicious words such as peace in the world, longevity and wealth. By definition, ghost money belongs to the category of spending money, but due to its nature, it is tabooed by people, and it is usually only regarded as a marginal category of spending money.
In the Liao Dynasty, money with auspicious words such as "Long Live Qianqiu" and "Long Live the Emperor" was popular, as well as money with the theme of Nine Sons and Mothers. Because Liao money was heavy, simple, and had a unique alien charm, it was deeply loved by money lovers. .
In the Jin Dynasty, wide margins and judicious wear were popular in spending money. Most of them were Taoist themes such as star officials and Xuanwu. Typical ones include large Xuanwu armors with tiger talismans and medium-sized seated Xingguan. The casting process is relatively refined. In the Jin Dynasty, a thicker and three-dimensional coin was popular, which came in various sizes, including square and round holes, among which the ones with large square holes were the best. This kind of hollowing is said to be cast by the Liao Dynasty, but no Liao money seen has such a delicate style, and this type of tail-chasing dragon is common in gold mirrors. Liao mirrors do not seem to have this format, so we believe that this type of money is still made of gold.
It was popular in the Yuan Dynasty to spend more money than Zhang Tianshi. Zhang Tianshi was originally Zhang Daoling who created the "Five Pecks of Rice" in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Taoist disciples respectfully called him Tianshi, which became the authentic Taoism. The name Tianshi was also inherited by future generations. In the Song Dynasty, the official title was not "Celestial Master" but "Mr.", and in the Yuan Dynasty, the official title was "Celestial Master". Even so, the title "Tianshi" may have existed among the people for a long time, and the earliest money spent by Zhang Tianshi may have appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty.
There are Zhang Tianshi's Jin Dynasty mirrors with monograms engraved on the sides of the book. The pattern is exactly the same as spending money, but the accuracy of the pattern is similar to that of common later reproductions of Tianshi spending money. Therefore, it can be proved that this style of spending money existed at least in the Jin Dynasty.
A lot of temple money (also called offering money) appeared in the Yuan Dynasty, including year names, temple names, names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, etc. Most of them were cast by temples and distributed to pilgrims, or as pilgrims. Offerings to the Buddha.
There were also many hollow coins in the Yuan Dynasty. The most common one was the rough and vivid style of chasing tail coins. In addition, the Yuan Dynasty also copied many hollow coins from previous generations.
There is a kind of seal script with gold and jade all over the hall and money on the back. The ground seal has exquisite patterns. From the perspective of craftsmanship, it should be at least Fanzhu. The traditional view is that it was cast in the Tang Dynasty. We think it should be cast from the late Yuan Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty because the dragon pattern and the pattern of the ground seal are a style imitating the Warring States bronze wares. This coin pursues a retro style, while the Tang Dynasty The Tang Dynasty had a unique aesthetic sense, and its artworks had unique characteristics of the era. Generally, the retro style was not popular. Judging from the bronze mirrors and other bronze wares of the Tang Dynasty, there was no pursuit of antique style. However, the casting technology and artistic level of bronzes during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties declined compared with those before the Tang Dynasty, so it is reasonable to imitate antiques. There are coins like this in the bronze mirrors of the late Yuan Dynasty. In addition, the shape of this type of money and the soft style of the calligraphy and pictures are not comparable to those of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, there are several money styles and casters that are similar to this type of money, such as the large-edged, long-lived, wealthy, and rich-backed rhinoceros looking at the moon coin with a ground seal covered with fringes; The seals all have exquisite patterns, and they must have been made in the same furnace, and the time span is not very long. Another feature of these coins is that the early coins have holes on the top and bottom. This feature also confirms the view that they were made in the same period.
In the Ming Dynasty, a lot of money with ethnic minority styles appeared in Yunnan and Guizhou. A popular style in Guizhou is Pisces (which should be taken as a fish transformed into a dragon) or dragon and phoenix with two zodiac signs on the back of two fishes. The style is simple and vivid, with the characters often simplified and deformed, and often decorated with bead circles. In the Ming Dynasty, hollow money was popular in Yunnan, mostly with themes such as pavilions, double peacocks, and double lions. It is said that some large unused hollow money for pavilions was unearthed in Dali, Yunnan, with a diameter of 67-68 mm, made of red copper, and extremely exquisite. It should be Early examples of this kind of money were also found with Taiding, Shuiguan and other coins. The unearthed situation this time provides strong evidence for the dating of pavilion money.
In the middle and early Ming Dynasty, some Taoist figures such as Xingguan and Tianshi from the previous generation may have continued to be recast. After the middle Ming Dynasty, the Xingguan theme was eliminated, and there are very few brass Xingguan themed flowers. money. The definition of spending money in the middle and late Ming Dynasty is still a difficult problem. Only a few types of brass spending money can be dated to the Ming Dynasty, such as "Fu Lu Zhen Xiang carries five sons on his back" auspicious language spending and the thick type "Continuous noble sons carry lotus flowers" "Auspicious words such as "spending money with patterns" may be some varieties that were mistakenly classified as Qing Dynasty, or maybe spending money was not popular in Ming Dynasty. These issues need further study.
Hua Qian entered its heyday in the Qing Dynasty. The number and types of extant money far exceeded that of previous dynasties. Among the Qing dynasties, official furnace lanterns accounted for the absolute majority, especially Yun, Gui, and Sichuan official furnaces. Why spend money.
The types of money spent in the Qing Dynasty were more diverse than those in the previous generation, mainly including: furnace money, town treasury money, palace money and money issued to the private sector, among which palace money also included money for hanging lamps, There are more types of money issued to the private sector, such as burden pendant money, palace beam money, palace appreciation money, etc., mainly including money with money, money with auspicious words, money with auspicious patterns, money with auspicious patterns, riddle money, astrology money, Spell money, zodiac money, gossip money, beam money, horse money, etc.
The town treasury money is money specially minted by the Guanlu Qian Bureau to suppress evil and drive away evil and protect the money bureau. The shape is generally thick and large, and the inscriptions on the face can be money inscriptions, auspicious words or patterns, which are rare in the world. Typical examples include the large-scale "Baoyuan Bureau Zaobei Zhenku" and the extra-large Jiangsu furnace "Xianfeng Chongbao Back Manchu Wenbaosu".
The furnace money refers to the commemorative money cast by the money bureau at the beginning of its establishment, or when it is re-opened, or at the beginning of the new year to welcome good luck, ward off evil spirits and welcome good luck. They come in different shapes and sizes. Typical examples include the Baoshan Bureau "Taiping Chongbao Back Baoshan Money Bureau", the Baosu Bureau "Qianlong Tongbao Back Three Stars Next to the Moon", the Baoyun Bureau large-scale "Jiaqing Tongbao Back Linfeng", etc. In addition, the money spent on some large and rare auspicious words and patterns may be furnace money, such as the zodiac dragon and phoenix on the back of the cloud furnace with a diameter of 105 mm. The nature of this requires further research.
The money for hanging lanterns is money used as pendants for lanterns in the palace. Bao Kang's "Illustrated Collection of Big Money" says: "In the twelfth month of the year, the money bureau will make a number of finely minted coins, which are called hanging lamp coins." There are many kinds of exquisite Tianxia Taiping coins handed down from generation to generation, with holes drilled up and down, and some are also seen. The engraved pattern is Xianfeng Dangbai, and there are holes drilled on the side edges. They may have been used as lamp pendants. It does not have to be "precision-cast money" to be used as lamp hanging money.
The baggage pendant money is money tied to the four corners of the bagu cloth placed under the sacrificial plaque or sacrificial object in the Fengxian Hall. Its function is to drop and fix it. The inscription on the bag pendant coin is the same as that of the official product, and the inscription on the back is for peace in the world. This money was also replaced after the new emperor came to the throne.
Inner palace entertainment money refers to the exquisite and heavy money specially minted by the government for the needs of palace entertainment. This kind of money can be called the "noble" among Qing Dynasty money. The price is very high and the quantity in existence is also rare. Typical examples include the large-scale "Jiaqing Tongbao carries world peace", the seal script "Fushou Kangning" and "Wanshou Wujiang carries Daya", etc.
Spending money with money inscriptions refers to spending money that uses official money inscriptions with words or patterns, such as "Qianlong's heavy treasure carries Baoquan dragon and phoenix", "Guangxu Tongbao carries the world's peace", etc. Some of this type of money It is also used as furnace money or lamp hanging money, burden money, etc. used in the palace.
Auspicious money is money made with auspicious words. Some of the auspicious words in money are taken from ancient books that are profound and difficult to understand, some are quoted from folk sayings that are sweet and sweet, and some are taken from fresh and elegant poems. Among them, the eight-character auspicious words such as "a book of fortune, good luck, good luck" and so on are more popular.
Auspicious pattern money refers to spending money that matches auspicious words and auspicious patterns. Such as "The picture of a sailing boat with a huge profit and a favorable backwind" and so on. There were a lot of money with auspicious patterns in the Qing Dynasty.
Auspicious pattern money refers to spending money with only auspicious patterns but no words. This is not a lot of money to spend.
Riddle money is a unique category of money spent in the Qing Dynasty, mostly from Yunnan and Guizhou areas. There is a riddle for money: "Wealth and wealth carry six people born from one mother, six people under two banners, less than an inch of land, and no one can travel all over the world." The answer is money in circulation in the Qing Dynasty. Qing money usually has four Chinese characters. Two Manchu characters, with six characters for ***, refer to people, so it is said that there are six people born to one mother. In the Qing Dynasty, people commonly called Manchus "Zaiqi" ??and Han people "Zaimin", and Manchuzi refers to "Qi". , Chinese language means "people", so it is said that there are six people under two banners. A small coin covers an area of ??less than an inch, but it travels all over the world. Therefore, it is said that "the area is less than an inch of land, and it is not allowed to travel all over the world."
Astrological money is a kind of money made with astrological patterns. Astrological money is a specialty of Yunnan Furnace in the Qing Dynasty. The diameter of early products is mostly 80MM, with astrological pictures on the surface, and various types of backs such as light and stars and moon. .
Beam-mounting money is money used in construction. Beam-mounting is an important step in the construction process. In ancient times, no matter the size of the building, a ceremony was usually performed and beam-mounting money was placed. Some large buildings often use special beam-mounting money, such as knife and cloth-shaped "Fuzhou Temple Main Hall beam-mounting money"; while some ordinary houses use Bagua and other money as the beam-mounting money, and more often use "Taiping Tongbao" Wait for the ancient coins to be made into Liang coins.
The game of playing horse coins in the Qing Dynasty has been lost, but many types of horse coins were cast in Sichuan and other places. The copper materials are yellow, white, and green, and many of them are cast in official furnaces. Ma Qian in the Qing Dynasty had its own layout style, and few directly reproduced the game pieces of the previous generation. The purpose was to be enjoyed by collectors. Of course, these horse money from the Qing Dynasty are not a game, but they are money in the full meaning.
From the Qing Dynasty’s artistic style of spending money, there have been obvious changes in the previous generations. The overall patterns advocate simplicity and liveliness, and are closer to life. In the Central Plains area, most people spend money on single-line outlines, and rarely use flat carving and relief techniques, and the level is lower than that of the previous generation. The most distinctive feature of the money spent on official furnaces in the Qing Dynasty was the human figures. The characters generally tended to be childlike and New Year pictures, such as Liu Haichan and Hehe Erxian, etc., all turned into lively and lovely children. The money-spending patterns before the Qing Dynasty, especially the characters, were full of charm and mystery. Generally speaking, the level of artistic expression of the money patterns on official furnaces in the Qing Dynasty is not high, but there are some excellent works, such as the Liu Hai Chan Funiu ring hanging plaque, which has a high overall concept and artistic level.
The beauty of calligraphy is fully expressed in the Qing Dynasty's Qian Qian. Generally speaking, the calligraphy level of Qian Qian before the Qing Dynasty is not high. There are only a few people with profound skills, and the calligraphy style is relatively monotonous. Most of them are regular script and running script. Mainly, there are few seal scripts, official scripts and cursive scripts (seal scripts mostly appeared in Qianqian before Tang Dynasty). By the Qing Dynasty, seal script, official script, regular script, Xing script, cursive script, Song style, and deformed artistic characters were commonly used in official scripts. Among them, many people had profound calligraphy skills. This was also a concrete manifestation of the auspicious words spent in the Qing Dynasty.
The money spent during the Republic of China was crude and crude, and generally of low value. However, some fine products are also worth playing with, such as the large official script "Hongwu Tongbao Face and Back Morning Glory" and the large gilt "Taiping" "Tongbao carries the zodiac" and so on.
In the past, spending money was always an accessory to ancient coins. Some collectors of ancient coins would spend some money to play with. Old money books either didn’t mention spending money at all, or included a brief mention at the end of the volume. , it can be said that spending money used to have no status. In the 1980s and 1990s, with the popularity of coin collecting, people began to have a new understanding of spending money. The characters and patterns on the money are in various shapes and styles, and it is not an exaggeration to call them ancient "copper engravings". The rich content in spending money is the epitome of folk customs of all generations; the auspicious connotation represents the ancients' yearning and blessing for a better life. Spending money is also inextricably linked to ancient money. Not only are they similar in shape, but they are also closely connected in terms of source and craftsmanship. For example, the vast majority of spending money is cast by money bureaus. Precisely because there are so many highlights in spending money, it has gradually become a unique and important section of ancient Chinese folk cultural relics. The team that spends money on collection and research includes not only ancient coin enthusiasts, but also antique enthusiasts, folklore researchers, etc.
The value of money spent is the biggest concern for money collectors, so how should we know it? We believe that the comprehensive evaluation can be mainly based on the following eight criteria: 1. How much is in existence; 2. The artistic quality of the calligraphy and pictures; 3. Whether the subject matter is good; 4. The size of the diameter in the same category; 5. Whether the shape is beautiful; 6. The appearance. The quality of the patina; 7. The fineness of the casting process; 8. The sooner or later the casting version.
1. The amount of money left in the world
The amount of money left in the world is a prerequisite for assessing the value of spending money. It can be said that spending money that is of high value must be scarce in quantity, but spending money that is scarce in quantity does not necessarily have high value. Because spending money is different from ancient money, the less the better. There are many rare and even orphan pieces of money, but the value of a shoddy piece of money is not high even if it is an orphan.
2. The artistic quality of words and pictures
This is a very important factor in evaluating the value of money spent. If the artistic level of words and pictures is high and the charm is sufficient, then its value It is relatively high, and of course collectors of money like to spend money that is pleasing to the eye. For example, the large-scale basalt water monster painting with fine calligraphy and beautiful pictures has a very high artistic level and is a treasure among the money. Another example is the Liao Dynasty flower painting, although the calligraphy and pictures are not fine, but it is rough and vivid, with a unique charm, and its value is naturally relatively high.
3. Is the subject matter good?
The theme of spending money is very important. For example, if a spending money is determined to be made by the peasant uprising army or the anti-Qing and Fuming organizations, then its value will be doubled. , if it is regarded as ordinary spending, then its value will be greatly reduced. It's like spending money on characters. If it's a star official theme, it's too ordinary. If it's a god or Buddha you haven't seen before, then the value will naturally double.
4. The size of the diameter in the same category
The diameter size is relative to the same category. For example, a horse's money with a diameter of 40MM is considered an extra-large horse's money, but if Compared to the money spent by other characters, it is only small and medium-sized. Generally speaking, spending money on large-scale items can improve the overall aesthetics, and their value is relatively high; spending money on small and medium-sized items has relatively lower aesthetics, and their value is relatively lower.
5. Beautiful shape
Beautiful shape refers to whether the thickness of the flower, the width of the opening, the width of the edge, the depth of the opening, etc. are beautiful in appearance. The beautiful shape of the flower The value of money is relatively high, and vice versa.
6. The appearance and coating quality
Spending money is a kind of art, so we pay special attention to the appearance and coating. The money spent on a product with good quality and good coating is much more valuable than the money spent on a product with poor quality and poor coating.
7. The casting process is fine and rough
The casting processes that cost money include sand casting, clay mold casting, stone mold casting, etc. Exquisite casting technology will also add to the money spent. In terms of aesthetics, the money spent on precision casting is certainly worth more than the money spent on rough casting.
8. The timing of casting editions
Like bronze mirrors, it is common for future generations to copy and imitate them. The first batch of coins to be minted is called "early edition". , those who spend money to recast or recast the early version as the mother or blueprint for future generations are called "late version" or "late version". Generally speaking, the lines and charm of the characters and patterns of the early editions are better than those of the later editions, so their value is much higher than that of the later editions. Taking the common large-scale Zhang Tianshi money as an example, the price of an early fine version with a diameter of 75MM is more than 10 times that of a late rough version with a diameter of 72MM.