194 ADDRESS TO THE [LECT. 



to bring into circulation five different varieties of shells 

 of an arbitrary value. 



A curious illustration of the passage from a state of 

 barter to the use of money is found in the fact that 

 pieces of cloth, and knives having been used as in some 

 measure a standard of value, almost as grey shirting is 

 even now, so the earliest Chinese coins were made to 

 resemble pieces of cloth or knives, and there are two 

 principal kinds of coins the pu coins, roughly repre- 

 senting a shirt (Fig. A., Plate L), and the tao coins (Fig. 

 B., Plate L), which are in the form of a knife. These 

 curious coins have been supposed to go back four thou- 

 sand one hundred years, and to have been made in the 

 year 2250 B.C. I believe, however, that there is still 

 much doubt on this point. Scimitar-shaped coins also at 

 one time circulated (if I may use the expression) in 

 Persia. But these forms were of course very inconvenient, 

 and the Chinese soon arrived at the opinion that money, 

 which was intended " to roll round the world " should be 

 itself round. A curious feature of Chinese coins, the nail- 

 mark, appears to have originated in an accident very 

 characteristic of China. In the time of Queen Wentek, 

 a model in wax of a proposed coin was brought for her 

 majesty's inspection. In taking hold of it she left on it 

 the impression of one of her nails, and the impression 

 has in consequence not only been a marked character- 

 istic of Chinese coins for hundreds of years, but has 

 even been copied on those of Japan and Corea. The 

 Chinese coins were not struck, as ours are, but cast, 

 which offers peculiar facilities for forging. The history 

 of Chinese coinage, to use Mr. Jevons's words, " is little 

 more than a monstrous repetition of depreciated issues, 



