206 BC - 9 AD. Rare! Funerary clay "gold cake" money piece, Western Han dynasty, China

Western Han clay “gold cake” money. 60mm in diameter, 45 grams.

The piece is a clay funerary “gold cake” money, dating to the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-9 AD). During the early Western Han dynasty, the gold plate money was no longer manufactured. Instead, slabs of gold in shape of little round “cakes” with various patterns on them were produced in the regions around the Yellow river. Clay copies of these cakes were also produced, and these probably had some ceremonial or funerary use. They used to be extremely rare until las t year, when a good number of them appeared on the market.