WU SHU CASH CHINA

The record of Han Wu-ti says that in the fifth year of Yuan-shou (118 BC) the light weight Pan-liangs with rims were replaced by the Wu Shu (5 shu). Unlike the crude Pan Liang, Wu Shu were better cast with finished edges usually leaving no trace of the casting sprew, well developed outer rims on both sides and a inner rim on the reverse, and finer calligraphy of a more modern style. They average 2.5 grams which is a return to the weight standard of the Ban Liang of the 179 to 136 BC period, and which is exactly weight a 5 shu coins should weight (using the 0.5 grams per shu standard for coins). For the next three hundred years the diameter is very consistent at about 26 mm. Because of their very long period of issue, with very little change in the coins, they are very common today.

S-257, the generic, commonest Wu Shu type. Obverse: "WU SHU". Reverse: blank. Average 26 mm, 2.5 grams.

VG $2.00 F $3.00 VF $5.00

Most reference books list the standard Wu-Shu as having been cast continuously from about 118 BC until the start of the T'ang Dynasty in about AD 617. While we agree that coins of the Wu-Shu denomination were cast at various time throughout this period, it is our opinion that the basic standard Wu-Shu as illustrated above were probably only issued until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty in about AD 220, and that all of the Wu-Shu issued after that date are of distinctly different styles and types. Our evidence for this is complex and is discussed throughout the page on this site devoted to the period between AD 220 and AD 600, but you will have to read the entire page to gain an understanding of it.

WU SHU VARIETIES

Most of the Wu Shu coins one comes across are the very generic type listed above, and one cannot date them exactly (they may have been made for up to about 700 years). It is beyond the scope of this site to list all the subtle varieties of the Wu Shu coinage, but we will list some of the major ones below as they come our way. Like the generic type, most cannot be dated accurately, however there are a few that can be and for these click on the Dynasty's name to link to that listing.

S-257, commonest Wu Shu type with a plain obverse inner hole, but with small but very distinctive evidence of the casting sprews remaining on the edges in two spots. This is simply a coin with improperly finished edges, but it is unusual and gives good evidence that this type was cast in "TREE" form. We have only noticed one of these. Sold as a counterfeit, no returns