WESTERN HAN: Han Wudi, 141-87 BC, lead 300 zhu (13.4g), Tortoise type of bai jin san ping, the symbolism of domed shell of the turtle represents the round sky above and its flat bottom symbolizes the flat earth below. Therefore, the image of the turtle represented the Han Chinese people who live beneath the vaulted sky and stand on the earth, graded 82 by GBCA Grading Company, VF, ex Dr. Dirk Löer Collection. The "Bai Jin San Pin" (White metal three kinds), according to the Records of the Grand Historian, was introduced in 119 BC during the reign of Emperor Wu as both the Han-Xiongnu War and the territorial expansion of the Han Empire caused the imperial government to desperately increase their revenues. Among the reasons why the government started issuing this new type of currency was to remedy the inflation caused by the excessive issuance of bad money, but the Bai Jin San Pin would prove to be an insufficient solution. The Records of the Grand Historian claim that the new "Bai Jin" (white metal) money was a mixture of silver and tin. The term San Pin refers to the fact that it was a series of three coins with different denominations: Dragon 3000 cash coins, Horse 500 cash coins and Tortoise 300 cash coins.
