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The World’s Oldest Coin Mint Is Discovered in China | December 2021


Archaeologists discovered the world’s oldest known coin mint in Guanzhuang, China. The team used accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating to date the operation from 640 and 550 B.C.E. (Before the Common Era). Archaeologists also uncovered spade-shaped metal currency inside the bronze foundry.

About Guanzhuang, China

Guanzhuang was founded around 800 B.C.E. and abandoned sometime after 450 B.C.E. Archaeologists, who have been working to excavate the city for a decade, have uncovered wall foundations, moats, ceramics, burials, and historical records in the area, suggesting it was a regional center of the Zheng State. This area is now central China’s Henan Province.

Inside the Foundry

The bronze foundry was discovered in a craft-production area outside of the inner gate of the city. Tools used to cast artifacts, such as crucibles and ladles, were discovered alongside finished coins, bronze droplets, unfinished artifacts, artifact fragments, pieces of charcoal, thousands of clay molds, and large pits for production waste. This is the first coin mint of its kind to be dated with certainty.

The History of Money

The discovery has significant implications for the history of money. It is unclear why the foundry began minting coins, but soon after it did, other foundries across China followed in its footsteps. Since the mint was discovered close to a political center, it is possible the coins were made on government orders for the collection of taxes and debts. This would mean the coins were a political technology rather than a purely economic technology.

This 2,600-year-old mint essentially rewrites the history of money as we know it. Previously, the first known coin mint was in modern Turkey, which produced coins almost a century later.

The casting molds uncovered were made using a measuring tool and were used to make spade coins, a form of standardized money, with minimal variation. Before standardized coins, many different materials and goods were used as money or currency. People would accept these items in exchange for goods and services. The coins, which replaced cowrie shells during the Zhou dynasty, now represent the world’s earliest known standardized metal coin.

“Making coins was one of the most revolutionary financial innovations in human history,” said Hao Zhao, the lead author of the research paper published in Antiquity and researcher at Zhengzhou University, in a statement.

Finding the molds and coins together is a particularly unusual finding as ancient coins are more often discovered far removed from the locations where they were minted. This typically makes it difficult to date coins.

In the Classroom

This article can be used to discuss money in the history of money (Chapter 15: Money and the Financial System).

Discussion Questions

  1. What is money?
  2. How do archaeologists know the coins discovered were standardized?
  3. Why is the discovery of the world’s oldest known coin mint significant?

This article was developed with the support of Kelsey Reddick for and under the direction of O.C. Ferrell, Linda Ferrell, and Geoff Hirt.


Sources

Jesse Holth, "World’s Oldest Coin Mint Discovered in 2,800-Year-Old Chinese Foundry," ARTnews, August 6, 2021, https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/oldest-mint-spade-coins-chinese-foundry-1234601047/

Livia Gershon, "World's Oldest Known Coin Mint Found in China," Smithsonian Magazine, August 9, 2021, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/worlds-oldest-known-coin-mint-found-china-180978394/

Stephen Chen, "Could This Site in Central China Have Produced the World’s Oldest Coins?" South China Morning Post, August 19, 2021, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3145688/could-site-central-china-have-produced-worlds-oldest-coins

About the Author

Geoffrey A. Hirt of DePaul University previously taught at Texas Christian University and Illinois State University, where he was chairman of the Department of Finance and Law. At DePaul, he was chairman of the Finance Department from 1987 to 1997 and held the title of Mesirow Financial Fellow. He developed the MBA program in Hong Kong and served as director of international initiatives for the College of Business, supervising overseas programs in Hong Kong, Prague, and Bahrain, and was awarded the Spirit of St. Vincent DePaul award for his contributions to the university. Dr. Hirt directed the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) study program for the Investment Analysts Society of Chicago from 1987 to 2003. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Urbino in Italy, where he still maintains a relationship with the economics department. He received his Ph.D. in finance from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, his MBA at Miami University of Ohio, and his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Profile Photo of Geoffrey A. Hirt