Jade Coin Money Cowrie A

Description

Money cowrie is one of the ancient Chinese coins. Jade shell is a kind of imitation shellfish. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, with the development of economic and trade, in order to make up for the shortage of natural shellfish circulation, the value of the imitation shellfish was equal to or lower than that of natural shellfish.
The unit of measurement is a Peng, one Peng ten shells. The deep grooves and line marks on the shells are also signs of measurement.
With the development of economy and trade, after the Spring and Autumn Period, the jade shells gradually lost its circulation function, and thus became ordinary Ornaments, used to sew on silk fabrics, and some are also sacrificed.

This group of jade shells is about 35mm in length, about 23mm in width, and about 5mm in thickness. It looks like a natural sea shell with a raised back. There is a deep grinding groove on the front, five fine grinding lines on both sides of the groove, and two holes in the middle of the jade shell. The reverse side of the shell is flat and the material is jade. Due to the age, the whole jade shell has been slightly calcified, forming a milky white and translucent state.