China - Ancient. ZHOU: Spring-Autumn Period, 770-476 BC, AE grater (154.08g), Coole-6816, 55x165mm, these archaeological objects are called "grater money" or long niu xing (coiled dragon and stars); this is a lovely example! VF to EF, ex Charles Opitz Collection. Some older Chinese numismatic works describe these as a form of primitive money, but there is no evidence to support such a claim. These were probably a nutmeg grater. Photo size reduced.
