Wu Zhu / Blank. 18mm, 1.12 grams. Gratzer/Fishman "One Thousand Years of Wu Zhus" #B7.9.

These unique-looking Wu Zhus were attributed in the past to the Wei Kingdom of the “Three Kingdoms” period. Now they are given to the Eastern Jin because of archaeological discoveries in the Eastern Jin tombs in Shaoxing in Zhejiang.

The Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) ruled southern China after the collapse of the Western Jin, governing from its capital at Jiankang (modern Nanjing). Founded by Sima Rui (Emperor Yuan), the dynasty emerged when northern China fell to non-Han states during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, prompting large-scale migration of northern elites to the south. Eastern Jin authority rested on alliances with powerful aristocratic clans and a professional military that defended the Yangtze frontier, though the court was chronically weakened by factionalism and warlord dominance. Despite political instability, the period saw major cultural and intellectual flourishing, including advances in literature, calligraphy, Buddhism, and landscape aesthetics. The dynasty ended in 420 CE when the general Liu Yu deposed the last Jin emperor, founding the Liu Song dynasty and beginning the Southern Dynasties era.

This coin is unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic.