Qin of the Warring States Period
Exterior Diameter: 4cm

In the second year of King Huiweng's Reign of Qin during the Warring States Period (336 B.C.), the coin began to circulate. Since one liang consisted of 24 zhu in ancient times, the weight of 12 zhu is, therefore, called half liang. When Emperor Shihuang of Qin decided to unify the currency system, he named it as "Qin half liang" (literally, the half ounce of Qin). Later on, although the weight of coins was decreased from time to time, the name remained. For instance, the ruler of the Han Dynasty named his coin as "bazhubanliang"(literally, 8 zhu equals half ounce). Simply put, this term continued to be used until the Reign of Emperor Wudi in the Han Dynasty.