China - Early Imperial. EASTERN WU: Anonymous, AE cash (6.24g), H-11.30, da quan wu bai (large coin [value] five hundred), short characters. According to the records,Sun Quan, ruler of Wu, cast in 236 the Da Quan Wu Bai, and in 238 the Da Quan Dang Qian coins. The people were called upon to hand over the copper in their possession and receive back cash, and thus illicit coining was discouraged. These are coarse coins, cast in the capital Nanking or in Hubei. In 2000, clay molds and other casting materials for Da Quan Wu Bai coins were discovered in the Western Lake, Hangzhou.
