MORE than 1,000 ancient Chinese coins from different dynasties are on display at the Shenzhen Museum on Tongxin Road until August.

Ranging from cowry shells from about 3,000 years ago to copper coins used as the chief denomination of imperial China up to the paper money of the early 20th century, the various forms of currency reflect the political, economic and social features of their times.

The exhibits are owned by veteran Hong Kong collector Chow Yiu-kei, who used to be a bank clerk and has been collecting coins for 70 years. He said cowry shells are believed to be the earliest form of currency used in China, but since shells could only be found in coastal areas, copies of these shells made out of animal bone, wood, stone, lead and copper were used inland. He said the transition of shell money to copper at the end of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.) marked the ancient Chinese as the first people to use metal coins in the world.

Many view ancient Chinese coins as art because of their various shapes. At the exhibition, viewers can admire coins in the shapes of knives, spades, fish, bridges, rings and daggers, all used by different states when China was fragmented in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period (770-221 B.C.). As part of the unification of China, Emperor Qinshihuang (260-210 B.C.) abolished all other forms of local currency and introduced a uniform copper coin based on the coins previously used by his Qin State. These coins were round with a square hole in the middle, which was the common design for most Chinese coins until the 19th century. “People in ancient times believed that heaven was round and the earth was square, which was one of the reasons why the copper coin has the round shape and a square hole in the center,” said Chow.

According to Chow, the colorful Chinese monetary system embodies the interesting history of ancient politics. He said that although the sizes and metals used in round coins remained mostly unchanged for 2,000 years, designs changed according to imperial era names or reign titles. He said Li Shou, an emperor of a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty (265-420), was the first to engrave his reign title on coins. “When there was a change in reign title, emperors would issue newly designed coins engraved with their reign title. Engraving reign titles is significant for archaeologists’ research. People can easily distinguish different eras of coins by the characters marked on the coins,” said Chow.

Besides copper coins, silver and gold ingots also circulated in ancient China, and the wide use of silver coins began at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Silver, which flowed in from overseas, was first used as a currency in southern coastal Guangdong Province. From there, it spread to the lower Central China region by 1423.

Meanwhile, visitors can find the earliest paper currency in the world, jiaozi, at the exhibition. Jiaozi appeared in the early Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). As a commodity economy developed, trade increased, and the demand for currency grew, merchants needed a more convenient kind of currency; hence, paper money appeared. It was first issued in 1023 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and the concept of banknotes was first introduced to Europe during the 13th century by Italian traveler Marco Polo after he saw it in China during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

Dates: Until Aug. 10

Hours: 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Closed Mondays

Venue: Shenzhen Museum, 6 Tongxin Road, Futian District (福田区同心路6号深圳博物馆)

Metro: Luobao or Shekou Line, Grand Theater Station (大剧院站), Exit B