Identifying Chinese cash coins

Round coins, square holes, and four characters that name the reign.

The classic Chinese cash coin is cast bronze, round with a square central hole, and carries four characters read top-bottom-right-left naming the reign period. The design barely changed for two thousand years, so the characters — not the shape — carry the identification.

Casting, not striking, is correct here: file marks on the rim and a slightly grainy surface are manufacturing traces, not damage. Reverse marks distinguish mints and periods; Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese issues copy the format with their own inscriptions.

Match the four characters against a reference table of reign titles — even non-readers can pattern-match reliably. Be aware that replicas are ubiquitous (cash coins are sold by the bag as charms), so treat crisp, identical, or oddly light examples with caution, and record weight and diameter.

From the guide library inside Collectors Catalogues, a free app for cataloguing antiques and finds with honest, museum-grade records.

More on coins

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Identifying Roman bronze coins — From heavy sestertii to tiny late-Roman nummi.

Identifying Greek coins — City badges, gods, and fabric — reading coins struck before Rome ruled.

Identifying Celtic coins — Abstract horses, wreaths, and heads — coinage reimagined by Iron Age artists.

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