The Jin Dynasty and The 16 Kingdoms
Sima Yan founded the Jin Dynasty in AD 265, and after the defeat of Eastern Wu in 280, China was reunified for a while. At first the dynasty was known as the Western Jin with Luo-yang as its capital; from 317, it ruled as the Eastern Jin from Nanking. The historical records do not mention the specific casting of coins during the Jin Dynasty. In the south, reductions in the weights of coins caused great price fluctuations, and cloth and grain were used as substitutes for coins. In the north, numerous independent kingdoms (The Sixteen Kingdoms) issued some interesting coins.
Read more about this topic: Ancient Chinese Coinage
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