Two large Chinese characters Wu Zhu ("5 zhu"), with a characteristic rounded "Zhu", diagonal dash (yi = 1) above Wu // Blank. 25mm, 2.82 grams. Gratzer/Fishman - (see B4.118, different location for the diagonal dash); BM Chinese coins (Poole) #398-403var. (without the marks); Hartill 10.2var (see note on page 93); Schjoth 178var (without the marks).

Rare type with with the dash on the obverse. Not listed in Gratzer/Fishman, though a number of varieties with diagonal dashes in other locations (cf. B4.118) are shown.

Privately cast late Eastern Han issue. These were cast c.146-190 CE.

The Han Dynasty (206 BC-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 (23 CE) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (206 BC-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.