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Primary sourceArtifactQin dynasty (221-206 BCE)

Qin Banliang Coins

Qin dynasty (221-206 BCE)

Two bronze banliang coins with square holes, representing the standardized currency introduced across the empire under Qin Shi Huang.

These coins reflect Qin Shi Huang's currency reform, which standardized money across his newly unified empire.

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Two dark bronze round coins with square center holes lie on a light beige fabric-covered display surface in a museum case. Their surfaces show worn, faint markings.
Qin banliang coins, Qin dynasty. Shandong Provincial Museum, photographed 2012.

About this source

What it is

These are two bronze banliang coins, round with a square hole in the center, displayed at the Shandong Provincial Museum. Coins of this type were made standard across the Qin empire under the rule of Qin Shi Huang.

Why it matters

Qin Shi Huang unified many aspects of life after conquering the warring states, including currency. Standardizing coins like these banliang pieces made trade easier across his new empire and is one of several reforms — alongside standard weights and writing — that show how he tried to bind a diverse set of former kingdoms into a single, uniform state.

Look closer

  • Why would a new emperor want one single type of coin instead of many local currencies?
  • What does the square hole in the coin suggest about how it might have been carried or strung together?
  • What other things might have needed standardizing when several kingdoms were joined into one empire?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Emperor Qin Shi Huang on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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