Crude earliest Junguo Wu Zhu, 118-113 BC, Western Han, China (G/F#1.2)

Two large Chinese characters Wu Zhu, outside rim / Blank, inside and outside rims. 25mm, 3.12 grams. Hartill #8.4; Gratzer/Fishman #B1.2.

Very interesting crude issue, with crude characters and a large hole.

Earliest of the Wu Zhu issues - because the empire did not have any government foundries to cast coins, the casting was delegated to the Commanderies (“Jun”) and Principalities (“Guo”) - that is, the small private foundries in the provinces. Thus, these coins are known as "Junguo Wu Zhus".

The Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220-265 CE). It was founded by the peasant rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9-23 CE) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (206 BCE-9 CE) and Eastern Han (25-220 CE). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people".

This coin is unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic.