1291

XIN: Wang Mang, 7-23 AD, AE gold key money (25.3g), GBCA graded 80

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Chinese Coins - Early Imperial Start Price:3,500.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
XIN: Wang Mang, 7-23 AD, AE gold key money (25.3g), GBCA graded 80
SOLD
10,000.00USD+ buyer's premium
This item SOLD at 2026 Jan 23 @ 17:12UTC-08:00 : PST/AKDT
SPENDING LIMITS - If you need a higher spending limit please email us at payments@stevealbum.com

BUYER'S PREMIUM - The Buyer's Premium is $20 per lot or 20% of the hammer price, whichever amount is greater.
XIN: Wang Mang, 7-23 AD, AE gold key money (25.3g), H-9.12, yi dao ping wu qian (one knife worth five thousand) with the words yi dao written in gold inlay, graded 80 by GBCA Grading Company, VF, ex Dr. Dirk Löer Collection, ex Emporium Hamburg Auction, Lot 1423.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The GBCA label shows the incorrect weight. This piece weighs 25.3g. The label was mixed up with Lot 1292 in this auction.

At that time 5000 Wu Zhu was equal to 1/2 cattie of gold. A cattie weighed about 120 grams, so these knives were valued at about 60 grams (2 ounces) of pure gold. We have not been able to find a relative value for gold in ancient China, but in the same time frame in the Roman Empire, two ounces of gold would have been at least a year's wages to an average citizen, thus the problem with this issue. It was fiat currency with a named value very high, but with little intrinsic value.