Spade money (pinyin: bu bi) was an early form of coin and commodity money used during the Zhou dynasty of China (1045 to 256 BC). Spade money was shaped like a spade or weeding tool, but the thin blade and small sizes of spade money indicate that it had no utilitarian function. inscriptions were added to the spade coins to mark their denominations. Several versions of spade money circulated across the Chinese Central Plains during the Zhou dynasty period until they were abolished by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC in favour of the Ban Liang cash coins.

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Keywords: bi, bu, cash, china, chinese, coin, coins, commodity, currency, dynasty, early, economy, finance, form, money, pinyin, qin, spade, zhou