CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC,  "bell money" & "lotus root heart money."
    There are several mentions of "bell money" in the literature.  Some of these are real bells, while others are bell shaped but won't make any noise.  I and my colleagues consider it axiomatic that any Zhou era bronze object of reasonable size can legitimately be considered "money," but whether or not these things actually went hand to hand like coins is another question.  At the bottom of this page are examples of the so-called "lotus root heart money," which are NOT bells, but there is perhaps a conceptual connection, and/or perhaps they are ancient keys, in which case, what happened to all the locks?

CBL26) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell money, 50x19x9mm, 5.8g, "legs" type, decorated with chevrons, holes near loop for tied clapper, F $55.00 sold 3/3/2012
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CBL25) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell money,  24x9x8mm, 2.8g, flat base, 2 slots, decorated with stacked lines toward loop, F $44.00 sold 3/3/2012
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CBL22) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell, thin handle, 39x36mm, 8.5g, starburst design, sandhole, VF $36.00 sold 7/19/07
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CBL15) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell, thick walls, no clapper, very similar to a picture in Ramsden.  32mm tall, 5.5g, $39.00 sold
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CBL11o) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bronze bells, 42mm tall, 18x22mm across with pointed ends, made without clapper, 15g, rims a bit rough, great items, $52.50 sold
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CBL19) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell "money," cone with long "legs," no clapper, 33mm tall, 21x16mm across, F $25.00 sold
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CBL12p) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell, plain cones, ~42mm tall, 18mm dia., ~12.5g, VF $36.75 both sold
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CBL17) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell, 39x31mm, 58mm tall, cylindrical profile, flattish handle, no decoration, very thick walls, no clapper, flaws, F $36.00 sold 6/14/2010
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CBL18a) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell, flattened cone with long "legs," might as well call it money because it doesn't make any noise,  45mm tall, 8mm thick, 15mm at base, 5.5g, chevron decoration, crust, VF $25.00 sold
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CBL23) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell money, 48x13mm, clapper like crocodile's jaws with void at top of one jaw, long round handle with bit of earthworm-like sectioning, ring at end, F $35.00 sold 3/3/2012
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CBL5) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, bell in beautiful state of preservation and bigger than the ones shown above.  65x70mm.  Unfortunately, I don't believe its ancient, quite the contrary in fact.  But maybe I'm wrong and it is thus an utter bargain.  At a dollar above my cost - $20.00 sold
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

CLR9) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 58x12x12mm, 28g, square prism, some slots & grooves, loop at top, piece missing, F $50.00 sold
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CLR1) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 32x9x9mm, 16.7g, squared bell shape, slot on side, hole at top, maybe these were keys, in which case, what happened to the locks?, $98.00 sold
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CLR4) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 36x14x10mm, 12.7g, squared bell shape, slit in one wall, loop at top, F $88.00 sold 3/3/2012
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CLR11) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 24x8x8mm, 9.1g, square prism, grooves, slots, a "pin" is in 1 slot, hole at top, VF $98.00 sold 3/3/2012
Click picture for enlargement.
 
 
 
 
 

CLR12) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 41x22x11mm, 12.4g, cleaned outside, VF $88.00 sold 3/3/2012
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CLR13) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 44x24x10mm, 14.2g, small casting hole on side, F $85.00 sold 3/3/2012
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CLR14) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 52x18x8mm, 17.9g, squared bell shape, slit in one wall, loop at top, VF $95.00 sold 3/3/2012
Click picture for enlargement.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CLR15) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 35x19x11mm, 17.6g, squared bell shape, slit in two walls, loop at top, F $130.00 sold 3/3/2012
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CLR16) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 25x17x8mm, 8.8g, squared bell shape, slit in one wall, loop at top, F $65.00 sold 3/3/2012
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CLR17) CHINA, ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money,"  61x14x9mm, 38.6g, rectangular with grooves & a slot in one wall, VF $135.00 sold 3/3/2012
Click picture for enlargement.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CLR18) ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money,"  46x15x8mm, 37.6g, rectangular with groove in one wall & slots in two, VF $90.00 sold 12/20/2008
Click picture for enlargement.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CLR19) ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money,"  61x12x12mm, 45.6g, hollow square prism with grooved walls, F $130.00 sold 12/20/2008
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CLR21) ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 43x15x14mm, 2 1/3 walls of a rectangular prism, quite key-like, VF $110.00
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CLR21) ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, "lotus root heart money," 43x15x8mm, slots in 3 walls, aVF $103.00
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277-92. ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, 26x8.5x8.5mm, rectangular, variously slotted & grooved, unusually, the hole is in a wall rather than on a projecting loop, VF $75.00 sold 6/26/2015
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277-93. ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, 28x7.5x11mm, rectangular but only 3 walls, no slots, harshly cleaned, F $62.00 sold 3/3/2012
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277-94. ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, 31x14x8.5mm, normal conical rectangular shape, no slots, XF $110.00
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277-96. ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, 34x21x7mm, normal rectangular shape, 2 slots, harshly cleaned, F $62.00 sold 6/26/2015
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277-97. ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, 37x14x11mm, normal conical rectangular shape, no slots, VF $100.00
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277-98. ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, 40x11x8mm, normal conical rectangular shape, no slots, aVF $89.00
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277-99. ZHOU Dynasty, 1122-255 BC, 43x10x7mm, rectangular, variuosly slotted & grooved, small flaw, F $97.00 sold 6/26/2015
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