Wei State spade-money at The British Museum, London

The earliest money in China was shaped like tools, including spades and knives. These forms were possible because coins were cast in moulds. Spade money reflected the shape of real agricultural tools, with the hollow handle originally being the socket for a wooden handle. These spades were made to standard sizes for use as money. During the Warring States period (475-221 BC), the various states used different forms of spade money. There were several weight systems which were reflected on the inscriptions on the currency. Wei was an ancient Chinese state during the Warring States period. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included parts of modern-day Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong. A old chinese legend says than an unnamed King of Wei is featured in one of the canonical tales of homosexual love in China. The king had a favorite named Lord Long Yang, with whom he enjoyed fishing. One day, Long began to weep. When questioned, Long said he saw his own future in how he had treated a fish. Happy to have the catch at first, Long Yang had wanted to throw it back when he caught a better fish. He wept, I am also a previously-caught fish! I will also be thrown back! To show his fidelity to Long Yang, the king declared that, Anyone who dares to speak of other beauties will be executed along with his entire family. (Credit; Wikipedia, British Museum) This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.Scanned : Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan)中国最早的货币形制模仿工具，包含铲布币（spade money）与刀形币。此类币形的诞生源于钱币采用范铸工艺制作。铲布币复刻了真实农具的造型，其空心柄最初本为安装木质手柄的銎孔。这类铲布币被制作成统一规格以充当货币。 战国时期（公元前475年-公元前221年），各诸侯国通行形制各异的铲布币。当时存在多种计量体系，这些体系均在钱币铭文上有所体现。 魏国是战国时期的诸侯国，其疆域位于秦国与齐国之间，辖有今河南、河北、山西及山东部分地域。 一则中国古代传说提及，一位佚名的魏王曾现身于中国经典同性爱情典故之中。魏王有一位宠臣名为龙阳君，二人曾一同垂钓。某日，龙阳君潸然泪下。魏王问及缘由，龙阳君称他从自身对待捕获的鱼类的态度中，窥见了自己未来的处境。起初他因钓获第一条鱼而欣喜，可当钓获更大的鱼后，便欲将先前的鱼放生。他哭道：“我也曾是那条被捕获的鱼，终将被弃之不顾！”为表对龙阳君的忠贞，魏王下令：“凡胆敢进言举荐其他美人者，全家一律处死。” （来源：维基百科，大英博物馆） 此文物隶属于“扫描世界”（Scan The World）项目。“扫描世界”是MyMiniFactory推出的非营利性倡议项目，旨在打造全球范围内可3D打印的雕塑、艺术品与地标建筑的数字档案库，供公众免费获取。该项目为开源社区共建项目，若您身边有有趣的藏品并希望参与贡献，可发送邮件至[e-mail]了解参与方式。 扫描方式：摄影测量法（采用Agisoft PhotoScan软件处理）