Two Chinese characters - Ban Liang ("Half an ounce"), no rims or other marks / Blank, no rims. 30mm, 4.05 grams. Gratzer/Fishman "The Early Round Coins of China" #A12.7. SKU T1105-50171

Qin Er Shi Huangdi ("second generation Qin Emperor") was a son of the first Qin Emperor Shi Huangdi. He short and troubled reign saw many revolts and production of inflationary coinage. After a reign of three years, he was defeated and replaced by the Emperors of the Han dynasty.

The coins traditionally attributed to the son and successor of Qin Shi Huangdi are similar to the earlier coins, but are generally lighter. Following the death of Shi Huangdi in 210 BC and the beginning of the civil war, Ban Liangs underwent rapid inflation and their weight quickly decreased, even though most of them remained large and similar in style and size (but not weight) to the coins of Qin Shi Huangdi. These smaller coins in fairly unique styles are found in Xi™an in Shaanxi and in Luoning, Xin™an and Xinzheng in Henan. This can be regarded as the first known case of the Chinese round coin inflationary crisis, one of the many to come.

This coin is unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic.