Bronze Cowrie Shell Coins from Zhou Dynasty

A group of 11 gilt bronze 'cowrie shell' coins, Zhou dynasty,…
click the photo to enlarge
A group of 11 gilt bronze 'cowrie shell' coins, Zhou dynasty, possibly the Jin, Lu, and Wei cultures with box, Approx. 2.8 cm long each (11). Provenance: C. C. Teng, Taipei, 28 February 1995, no. 002550 (label and receipt) Cowrie shells are amongst the earliest known forms of currency. In Neolithic China, cowrie shell currency was in large circulation during the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties. During the late Shang dynasty, the bronze age, bronze was cast into shell forms as money. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, Jin, Lu and Wei cultures started to see such bronze shells covered with gold leaf such as those in this lot

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.

    The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.

    It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture.

This item has been included into following indexes: