The earliest coinage of Asia is also the oldest coinage of the world. Coins were invented several times independently of each other. The earliest coins from the Mediterranean region are from the kingdom of Lydia, and are now dated ca. 600 BCE. The dating of the earliest coins of China and India is difficult and the subject of debate. Nevertheless, the first coins of China are at least as old as the earliest Lydian coins and possibly older, while the earliest coins of India seems to have appeared at a later stage.
Pre-modern Chinese coins were always cast bronze or brass issues. This concept was later adopted by Japan, Korea and Annam (Vietnam), and also influenced regions in South-East Asia.
The Lydian coins consisted of discs or lumps of electrum (a natural gold/silver alloy), and were stamped on two sides with dies. This concept spread rapidly to neighbouring Greek city states in Asia Minor and across the Aegean Sea, and eventually throughout the Mediterranean. When Lydia was conquered by Achaemenid Persia, the production of Lydian coins continued in the guise of silver Siglos and gold Darics. Other parts of Persia only began to mint coins at the time of Alexander the Great's conquest.
Coinage of India began in the 7th century BCE, as small native states known as the Mahajanapadas began to mint coins of silver. The concept of coinage, and many design elements, spread across the Indian subcontinent within centuries. India subsequently absorbed and modified numerous influences, including Greek, Roman, Arabic and Persian.
Coinage of East Asia
China
Some time around the 7th century BCE, coins shaped like utensils emerged in China. In most regions, spade-shaped coins were issued, while knife-shaped coins were issued in the North-East. In the state of Chu (in Southern China), small oval bronze pieces were issued. Numismatists and archaeologists believe that the minting of coins was not organized by the central authority, i.e. the royal court of Zhou. The spade and knife coins underwent a number of changes in size, shape and inscriptions.
Cowrie shells are found in archaeological excavations that date back to the Shang era (2nd millennium BCE). These might have been used as currency, but there is not agreement as to whether they did serve a currency purpose or not. Various other bronze artifacts have been described as money (e.g. "bridge money"); these are now believed to be various types of ornaments, not related to currency.
During the 4th century BCE, a new type of coins, the "ban liang" type, was introduced in the Western state of Qin. The ban liang coins were round, cast bronze coins with a hole in the center, inscribed "ban liang", or half liang (a weight unit). Qin eventually conquered the other states of China and replaced the defunct Zhou dynasty with the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE. The monetary systems of China were now standardized, based on the Qin model, and knife and spade coins were replaced with ban liang coins. The round, cast base metal coins of the Far East are known as cash coins. The cash coins were customarily strung together with hempen threads into standard-size strings of cash, representing a fixed value.
In 118 BCE, the ban liang coins were replaced by another type, the "wu zhu" type, that was inscribed "wu zhu", or five zhu (another weight unit). These were minted until 621 CE, shortly after the establishment of the Tang dynasty. Being minted for almost a thousand years combined, the ban liang and wu zhu coins come in a great number of varieties. The uncovering of the history of these varieties is an ongoing process.
The coins issued during the Tang dynasty were unusual in their day, in the sense that the obverse inscription consisted of four characters instead of two. The "Kai Yuan tong bao" coins were minted throughout the Tang era, and subsequent Chinese coin issues (up to around 1900) were based on this precedent.