Ancient Chinese Money

If asked what these objects were, money probably wouldn't be the first thing that we would think of as we are used to coins being small discs, but in ancient china, currency took various forms which are quite different to those which we recognise today.   The long coins are called sword coins.  In pre dynastic China many coins took this shape or that of other weapons.  Each provincial Lord would have produced his own coins and each would have been different from from the neighbouring Lords or his clans.