Re: Found this in Mom's jewelery box as I work thru her estate
This is from Ivan Salis' site:
PLL
HEAVY KNIVES
The large heavy knifes may be the most misunderstood part of this series. They are traditionally described as the earliest knife form, a theory to which we cannot subscribe. With the exception of the three-character Ch'i knife, which is not overly common, all heavy knifes are rare to extremely rare. If they had really seen the 600 years of circulation suggested by Wang, one would expect them to be very common coins
Ch'i Type Knife S-45-50. Obverse: Three characters reading "CH'I FA HUO" which loosely translates to "The authorized currency of Ch'i". The reverse generally has a single character, but there are a number of different types known. The specimen shown is somewhat sharper than normal, but these usually are fairly nice.
F $195.00 VF $275.00
There is some variation in the weights of these, but they seem to average around 48 grams.
Ch'i Type Four Character Knife
reference Fisher's Ding-253
Obverse: Four characters reading "CH'I CHIH FA HUO" which loosely translates to "The genuine currency of Ch'i".
Reverse: The reverse generally has a single character, but there are a number of different types known.
The specimen shown is typical with low relief characters, weighed 33.95 grams was was 185 mm long by 30 mm at the widest point on the blade by 27 mm across the ring handle.
F $475.00 VF $650.00
The dating of these coins will probably remain uncertain until archeological evidence can provide some answers, but the coins themselves do give us some clues.
We feel that it is significant that no uninscribed, or even simple versions are known to exist. These are normal steps in coinage evolution, which exist for hollow-handle spades, pointed knifes and cowry imitations. In fact these heavy knifes first appear with full developed complex inscriptions including a mint name and indication of a monetary unit, a feature not seen on other coins until the late hollow-handled and heavy flat spades which probably date to around 400 BC.
While rims are present on many ancient coins, they are usually low and thin. The rims on these coins are thick and high. There is no real parallel to them, but the closest seem to be the early round coins of "I" (a city in the Ch'i territory), which are certainly of a very late date. Of the specimens that we have seen, none have shown significant signs of wear, which leads us to believe that they may not have been part of the general circulating coinage. They also seem to be the most finely cast of all ancient Chinese coins.
When we consider all the features of these coins, we are led to believe they may have been made for ceremonial purposes such as presentations or burial, which is consistent with the use of the state (Ch'i) as a mint designation, rather than one of the cities in Ch'i as is the usual pattern for the coinage of the Zhou period. We are also led to believe that these are one of the last forms of knife money, not the first, and were cast at a very late date, probably after 300 BC.
