Time Piece
A look at everyday objects from the past
YOUR MONEY OR YOUR KNIFE
This blade gives a whole new meaning to ‘cutting costs’
This knife may not be much use as a weapon, but it would have helped pay for one (cutting the price, if you will). Before round coins became the norm in ancient Chinese pockets, the people of the Zhou Dynasty used bronze or copper cut to look like objects that had been common trading goods. So, as well as many different shapes of ‘spade money’, knives like this appeared in the provinces as currency roughly 2,500 years ago. Spare a thought for any nervous traders who couldn’t tell if they were completing a sale, or being robbed.