Huachuanqian
From the Warring States period of the Zhou dynasty until the early 20th century the standard cash coin was round with a square central hole.
[9][10] The body of these early round coins was called their "flesh" (肉) and the central hole was known as "the good" (好).
[11] Over the millennia that they were issues by various dynastic states, the square hole in the centre of cash coins had experienced numerous, but minor changes over their long history.
[12] These changes resulted in the square hole in the centre being slightly bigger, smaller, elongated, misshaped, or at times they were filled with some excess metal from the production process.
[13] While some believe that these "flower hole" cash coins were accidentally created due to the incompetence of mint workers who produced faulty cash coins, others believe that these "flower holes" weren't mere accidental creations and had some sort of significance, meaning that they were intentionally created.
[12] While these early contenders are quite well documented, other early examples of Huachuanqian include a number of types of Xin dynasty coinages, including Hou Quan (貨泉) cash coins and a variety of the Huo Bu (貨布) coin, a type of coinage produced during the reign of Emperor Wang Mang which resembled ancient Zhou dynasty period shovel- or spade shaped-money.
[12] Huachuanqian with the inscription Wu Zhu (五銖) are thought to be exceptionally rare and cash coins with "flower holes" aren't commonly seen throughout the first half of the first millennium.
[15] While the Huachuanqian is most closely associated with the establishment of the Tang dynasty where they became less rare, these earlier examples date 7 centuries before this occurred, meaning that they are much older than traditionally thought.
[12] Over time they would become more common as during the middle to later years of the Tang dynasty period, the Huachuanqian would circulate all over the various territories of the empire.
[12] Chinese scholar Ding Fubao noted that the appearance of Huachuanqian was most closely associated with Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins and those of the Northern Song period.
[12] The reason for this decline in the quantity of Huachuanqian can possibly be attributed to 2 major reforms to the designs of the currency that appeared during his reign.
[19][22] Ancient Chinese texts reporting on the appearance and circulation of cash coins with "flower (rosette) holes" traditionally concluded that their creation was the result of the 2 halves of the coin mould accidentally being shifted during the production process of the ancient Chinese casting method.
[12] This means that Huachuanqian cannot have been created as the result of either a mould or sand tray shift, because then the inner rim's inside which surrounds the actual hole would likely also feature more sides if this hypothesis was correct.
[12] Cash coins with "flower holes" became more common with the introduction of the Kaiyuan Tongbao (開元通寶) during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang dynasty.
[12][28] While their creation may at times have been an error, the fairly large quantities of Huachuanqian that found their way into general circulation during the Tang and Song dynasty periods in particular, two Chinese dynasties which were generally renowned for their practice of producing cash coins with both high standards and high quality, would indicate that the common presence of Huachuanqian was likely an intentional embellishment.
[12] An example of a Korean cash coin with an eight-sided "flower hole" ("rosette hole") includes a Sangpyeong Tongbo [ko] (常平通寶) cash coin cast at the "Government Office of Pukhan Mountain Fortress", with the mint mark kyŏng (經).
[36] Meanwhile, this Sangpyeong Tongbo cash coin with a "flower hole" was produced in 1830, several centuries after the last recorded Huachuanqian were seen in China.
