Rare sloping shoulder hollow-handle spade, States of Liang or Jin, Eastern Shaanxi, c.400 BC, China. 

Three vertical lines / Same. 83mm long, 20.0 grams. Hartill 2.160. 

Certified very early spade-coin. Lovely example but with a repair on the neck. With beautiful original red and green patina. 

Spade coins were among the earliest forms of Chinese money, used mainly during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (c. 7th–3rd centuries BC). Cast in bronze and shaped like agricultural spades, they evolved from practical tools into a circulating currency. Early hollow-handled types were followed by flat spades bearing inscriptions naming mints, cities, or denominations. Spade coinage reflects the regional nature of early Chinese economies and the transition from barter and tool money to standardized coinage.