Definition

• or Tao, owes its origin to the practice of using metal knives for purposes of exchange. Its introduction in China cannot readily be determined, but it was during the period of H 'wan, about B.C. 650, that the first metal token representing a knife or sword is supposed to have been made. This money could be exchanged for an actual weapon. For a detailed descrip- tion of these coins the works of Laconperie and Ramsden should be consulted: the fol- lowing are, however, the principal varie- ties : 1. The flat Knife coins of Kan Tan, the capital of the ancient state of Tchao, before B.C. 400, and situated in what is now the province of Tchihli. These are very thin and brittle, with an elongated oval at the end of the handle. 2. The An- Yang issue of large three and four character Knife coins issued for the state of Tsi, between the seventh and third centuries B.C. 3. The Ming series issued by the city of Ming in the state of Tchao during the civil wars in the third century B.C. The handle of these terminates in a ring. 4. The Tsi Moh issue of the third cen- tury B.C. These can be grouped into the large and small sizes. The former con- stitute about thirty varieties with different mint or serial marks. Of the smaller size there are 16 varieties, the obverse inscrip- tion is reduced from six to five characters, and the reverse has only one symbol in- stead of the usual three. 5. The Wang Mang series, taking their name from the usurper Wang Mang, who reigned A.D. 9-23 and issued these coins A.D. 9-14. These pieces are much thicker than all the preceding types and only about half as long. Furthermore, the ring at the end of the handle was replaced by the shape of a thick piece of money with a square hole in the centre. Wang Mang struck two varieties, viz., pieces valued at 500 Chien, called Kit-tao, and pieces with gilt inscriptions, valued at 1000 Chien, and called Tsok-tao.

  Mr. E. Torday, in a communication to the London Geographical Journal (1911), states that " one of the most interesting points among the cannibal Bakutu of the Belgian Kongo, Africa, is their use of a conventional throwing-knife as currency. The Basongo Meno also use this form of currency, obtaining it from the Bakutu, who are the manufacturers." Conf. also Ramsden, Chinese Early Barter and Uninscribed Money. 1912. (pp. 10-13).

Quelle

• Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)

Beziehungen