刀币是一种中国古代的铜币名。由生产工具的刀演变而成。流通于春秋战国时期的齐、燕、赵等国。种类很多,有齐刀、即墨刀、安阳刀、针首刀、尖首刀、圆首刀和明刀等。上面铸有文字,秦始皇统一中国后,统一币制,废贝、刀、布等币。其后,王莽所铸造的钱币中有金错刀。
刀币是对春秋战国时期铸行的针首刀、尖首刀、明刀和齐刀、圆首刀等各种刀形货币的总称。因其形状像刀而得名。齐明刀亦称博山刀,因最早在山东博山发现,故俗称博山刀。博山系旧县名,位于山东中部,1958年撤销,并入淄博市。考博山刀来源,《金石索》载“博山刀为孙星舫所贻,云博山之杏峪村刨出一窖数百枚,文不能辨”,又,“此刀与前刀出一窖,虽舫又自博山携寄”。
此刀币由于出土于齐,其钱文有燕币“明”(或称“召”、“易”等)字,所以今人多称“齐明刀”。齐明刀特征,刀身较燕明刀刀身瘦狭,篆书“明”字外笔长且作方折,区别于燕明刀弧折状。而刀背文有齐、齐化、齐化共金、莒冶化、莒冶齐化等十几种不同字数的文字,多素背或符号者。此刀币铸制粗,含铜量略低,含铅量稍高,亦有铅质者。背面文字“安阳之法化”五字,“安阳”即今山东曹县一带。刀币由刀首、刀身、刀柄和刀环四个部分组成。刀之缘以外廓,刃不向外,向左而不向右,所说凹背凸刃,刀首近于三象形,刀身和刀柄是大小相近的两个长方形,刀环呈圆形,这几种几何形体巧妙地组合在一起形成了一种平稳周正、丰满、圆润的形象美和和谐美。加之,刀币是古时人民生活中的缩影,因此其有着深厚的历史文化底蕴,极具很高的收藏价值。
Dao coin is a kind of copper coin name in ancient China. Evolved from the knife of production tools. Qi, Yan, Zhao and other states circulated in the spring and autumn and Warring States period. There are many kinds of Dao, such as Qi Dao, Jimo Dao, Anyang Dao, zhenshou Dao, Jianshou Dao, Yuanshou Dao and Mingdao. There are characters on it. After the first emperor of Qin unified China, he unified the currency system and discarded shells, knives, cloth and other coins. Later, the coins Wang Mang minted included gold wrong Dao. Dao coin is the general name of all kinds of Dao shaped coins, such as needle head Dao, sharp head Dao, Ming Dao, Qi Dao and round head Dao, which were made in the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. It is named for its shape like a knife. Qi Ming Dao, also known as Boshan Dao, is commonly known as Boshan Dao because it was first found in Boshan, Shandong Province. Boshan is an old county name, located in the middle of Shandong Province. It was abolished in 1958 and incorporated into Zibo City. According to jinshishuo, the origin of Boshan Dao is studied. It is recorded that "Boshan Dao was created by sun Xingfang, and hundreds of pieces were dug out of a cellar in Xingyu village of Yunbo mountain, which can't be distinguished from the text". Moreover, "this Dao and the front Dao came out of a cellar, although the boat was sent from Boshan.". Because this Dao coin was unearthed in Qi Dynasty, it has the characters of "Ming" (or "Zhao" or "Yi"), so it is often called "Qi Ming Dao". Qi Ming Dao is thinner and narrower than Yan Ming Dao, and its seal character "Ming" is long and square, which is different from Yan Ming Dao. There are more than ten kinds of characters with different number of words, such as Qi, Qi Hua, Qi Hua Gong Jin, Ju Ye Hua, Ju Ye Qi Hua and so on. This Dao coin is thick, with a slightly lower copper content and a slightly higher lead content. On the back of the text "Anyang of the law" five words, "Anyang" is now in Caoxian area of Shandong Province. Dao coin consists of Dao head, Dao body, Dao handle and Dao ring. The edge of the knife has an outline, the edge is not outward, and the edge is left but not right. The concave back convex edge, the head of the knife is close to the three pictographs, the body and handle are two rectangles of similar size, and the ring of the knife is round. These geometric shapes are skillfully combined to form a kind of smooth, round and harmonious beauty. In addition, Dao coin is the epitome of people's life in ancient times, so it has a profound historical and cultural heritage, and has a high collection value.