Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Zhu 'Western Han' type, with top rim
| Issuer | Western Han Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 113 BC - 9 AD |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Hartill#8.8, Schjoth#115 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese |
| Obverse lettering | 五銖 (Translation: Wu Zhu) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The 5 zhu (wuzhu) became the backbone of Han monetary policy after Emperor Wu standardized its production in 118 BC, stripping coinage rights from regional lords who had exploited earlier decentralization to flood markets with underweight issues. The top rim variant — a raised lip on the obverse upper edge — is thought to reflect a specific workshop convention rather than a policy change, and its presence has been used by scholars to attribute pieces to particular casting periods within the long wuzhu sequence.
The type survived virtually unchanged through Wang Mang's interregnum, though Wang Mang officially abolished it in 7 AD in favor of his antiquarian currency reforms — themselves a catastrophic failure that contributed to his dynasty's collapse by 23 AD.