The first minting of coins as a standardized currency was a milestone in human history. But when this first happened was unclear so far. Excavations in the Chinese province of Henan have now unearthed the world’s oldest well-dated mint. As the researchers report, standardized spade coins were minted there as early as 640 to 550 BC.
Whether made of gold, silver or other metals: The invention of coins as currency marked an important turning point in the cultural and, above all, economic development of mankind. In some cultures there were standardized pieces of metal or objects such as cowrie shells that took on the role of a rudimentary currency. But the triumph of real currencies began with coins.
When were the first real coins made?
“Coins not only encouraged commercial exchange, but also opened up new ways for societies to assess wealth, prestige and power,” said Hao Zhao of Zhengzhou University in China and his colleagues. When and where the first coins were minted, however, was unclear, because coins from around 500 BC were already being used in India as well as in China and Asia Minor. or discovered a little earlier. “Archaeological information about early mints, on the other hand, is rare,” the researchers explain. Some possible embossing workshops in China and Asia Minor also suffer from the fact that they cannot be clearly dated.
Now, however, Zhao and his team have discovered a mint in Guanzhuang in the Chinese province of Henan, which can be dated with certainty – and as early as 640 to 550 BC. was in operation. “At this location, relics from various stages of coin production were found in clear archaeological contexts,” reports the team. “The mint was part of a well-organized, integrated bronze foundry under the auspices of the Zheng Empire.” The city of Guanzhuang was then at an important crossroads of trade routes that connected the royal city of Wangcheng with the eastern plains.
Molds and spade coins
Excavations between 2015 and 2019 uncovered an extensive zone with various workshops in this city, which was located immediately outside the southern city gate. “This area included workshops for the production of objects made of bronze, ceramics, jade and bones,” report Zhao and his colleagues. In the bronze foundry, which made up the largest part of this craft zone, crucibles, casting vessels, bronze remains, unfinished or broken bronze objects as well as numerous clay casting molds and furnace remains bear witness to the lively production.
Among the artifacts, the research team also discovered numerous clay molds for the production of spade coins, the earliest coin currency in China. These spade- or blade-shaped metal coins mark the common assumption after the transition from device money to real coin currency. This is expressed, among other things, in the increasingly standardized shape of the flat pieces of metal and their increasingly rich lettering. In Guanzhuang, Zhao and his team discovered molds for such coins as well as some spade coins. The oldest of these, SP-1, is still largely undecorated and comes from the oldest layers of finds dating back to 640 BC. Were dated.
“This makes Guanzhuang the world’s earliest known archaeological mint, the age of which has been reliably determined by radiocarbon dating,” the scientists write. “The SP-1 coin is the oldest spade coin – and, more generally, the oldest Chinese coin that was recovered from an archaeologically secured context.” The foundry was initially used for the production of everyday objects such as weapons, carriage parts or ritual vessels, and got it around 640 BC. a new function as the mint of the Zheng Empire.
Source: Antiquity, doi: 10.15184 / aqy.2021.94