China and the Far East
Small, round bronze coins with a square hole in the middle are instantly
recognizable as coins of the Far East. The basic design of this tradition of
coinage originated in China in the fourth century BC and became a
familiar form of currency over a vast geographical area, stretching from China
to Central Asia, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and South-east Asia. Hoards of these
coins have also been found, showing trading links with the Middle East, South
Asia, Australia and Africa. The latest coins to be made in this form date to the
early twentieth century, when a more Western style was adopted, with
pictorial images in place of the square hole, on struck, rather than cast, coins. The Far
Eastern coins in circulation today look like modern coins found all over the
world, yet the distinctive form of the traditional Far Eastern coins, known by
Chinese writers as 'little brothers', has persisted over two thousand years to
remain to this day a popular form for amulets and temple souvenirs in the Far East.
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