WARRING STATES: LOT of 10 items, State of Yan, ming dao "knife money", cast 400-220 BC, much better than average quality examples, a wonderful selection all with full clear reverse characters! retail value $850, lot of 10 items, ex Matthew Chang Collection. Ming knives take their name from the character on the obverse, which has traditionally been read as ming but other proposals have been yi, ju, méng, and zhao. A mint for Ming knives was unearthed at Xiadu, to the southwest of Beijing. This was the site of Yi, capital of the State of Yan from 360 BC, so the reading of yi has found favor recently. Molds have also been discovered in Shandong Province.
