Item Name:Han Dynasty 4 zhu Ban Liang coin mold Item number: MOLD11.2 Origin: China, Han Dynasty (BC 206 - AD 220) Price: Sold Dimension: approximately 135 mm (length) x 80 mm (breath) Weight: approximately 361 gms Materials: Clay Remarks: Part of a mold used for casting of 4 zhu Ban Liang. 1 main duct with 9 full coin cavities and 2 partial cavities on both sides of the duct.
	Item Name:Han Dynasty 4 zhu Ban Liang coin mold Item number: MOLD12 Origin: China, Han Dynasty (BC 206 - AD 220) Price: US$ 5,000 Dimension: approximately 19 cm (length) Weight: approximately 750 gms Materials: Bronze Remarks:Rectangular negative money tree mother mold used for casting of 4 zhu Ban Liang. A main duct divides 12 coin cavities into 2 rows. Condition is VF, patinated with clear legends in each cavity. Rare!
	Item Name:Han Dynasty4 zhu Ban Liang coin mold Item number: MOLD13 Origin: China, Han Dynasty (BC 206 - AD 220) Price: US$ 6,500 Dimension: approximately 26 cm (length) Weight: approximately 1.65 kgs Materials: Stone Remarks:Rectangular negative money tree mother mold used for casting of 4 zhu Ban Liang. A main duct divides 16 coin cavities into 2 rows on each side of the duct, making a total of 32 cavities for the whole mold. Condition is VF. Rare!
	Item Name: Han Dynasty Wu Zhu coin mold. Item number: MOLD14.2 Origin: China, Han Dynasty (BC 206 - AD 220) Price: US$ 250 Dimension: approximately 100mm x 80mm x 30mm Weight: approximately 233 gms Materials: Clay Remarks:

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Clay molds
In ancient China, around 11 century B.C., metallic coins in the shape of knifes and spades were cast in molds made of fine clay. These fine clay (known as loess) were found in abundance in the fertile Yellow River basin, where the seeds of ancient Chinese civilization was thought to have began. Cavities in the shape of the parts to be casted and with inscriptions on the obverse and reverse, were made into two brick like molds. These molds were then fitted into a casting gutter where the molten metal would be poured into it. The set back of this casting method is that the mold can be used only once as the mold has to be destroyed after each casting to remove the items being casted. Hence the reason why early Chinese coins does not look too much alike.

Stone molds
Towards the end of the Zhou Dynasty (B.C. 1100 - 221), molds made from stone were introduced. Thus the appearance of coins became more uniform and alike. Stone molds are much more durable than clay molds and it can be used several times before it wears out or break. The arrangement of the coin cavities in relation to the main gutter that carries the molten metal during casting ,resulted in a product that resembles a tree when it is first removed from the mold after casting. Thus the term "money tree" (Chien-shu) was derived.

Bronze molds
After the Zhou Dynasty, an improved technic was developed. Positive bronze mother molds were made and these were then used for making negative clay molds. The positive molds were pressed into the soft clay before the clay molds are fired and harden. These negative clay molds were then used for the actual casting process and destroyed after each use . However, the use of these positive molds created the ability to mass produce molds which were somewhat similar to each other, thus resulting in coins that are even more identical than ever before. During the Han Dynasty (B.C. 206 - A.D 220), negative bronze mold came into use. This allowed even greater economy and more identical coins to be made in vast quantities.

Wooden molds
Wooden molds were used during the Six Dynasties period (A.D. 420 - 589). As wooden molds are not very durable, coins made with this casting technic were not too uniform. The use of wooden molds lasted till the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618 - 907)

Mother cash
After Tang Dynasty, the mold making technic was further refined to use a "mother" cash for the making of each coin cavity in the mold. Mother cash (Mu-Chien) , usually made of wood, tin or copper, were used to make cavity impressions into clay molds. These cavities were then connected to a central duct.

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