Cash coins are a type of historical Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Ryukyuan, and Vietnamese coin design that was the main basic design for the Chinese cash, Japanese mon, Korean mun, Ryukyuan mon, and Vietnamese văn currencies. The cash coin became the main standard currency of China in 221 BC with the Ban Liang () and would be produced until 1912 AD there with the Minguo Tongbao (), the last series of cash coins produced in the world were the French Indochinese Bảo Đại Thông Bảo () during the 1940s. Cash coins are round coins with a square centre hole. It is commonly believed that the early round coins of the Warring States period resembled the ancient jade circles () which symbolised the supposed round shape of the sky, while the centre hole in this analogy is said to represent the planet earth (). The body of these early round coins was called their "flesh" () and the central hole was known as "the good" ().

While cash coins are no longer produced as official currency today, they remain a common motif in the countries where they once circulated and among the diaspora of those communities. Most commonly cash coins are associated with "good luck" and "wealth" today and are commonly known as "Chinese lucky coins" because of their usage in charms and feng shui (see "Cash coins in feng shui"). Cash coins also appear in fortune telling (see "Cash coins in fortune telling") and traditional Chinese medicine (see "Cash coins in traditional Chinese medicine"). Furthermore, cash coins are often found in the logos and emblems of financial institutions in East Asia and Vietnam because of their association with "wealth" and their historical value.

Amulets

Cash coin designs are commonly used as a basic design for various amulets, talismans, and charms throughout the far east, these coin-like amulets often include the general design of cash coins but with different inscriptions. Some amulets and charms include may also include images of cash coins as they are associated with "wealth".China Buddhist Encyclopedia The Hidden or Implied Meaning of Chinese Charm Symbols copied from Gary Ashkenazy / גארי אשכנזי (Primaltrek – a journey through Chinese culture). Retrieved: 1 April 2020. Sometimes images of sycees, another form of ancient Chinese coinage, are used as a symbol in amulets, talismans, and charms for "wealth".

In amulets cash coins can be a symbol not just of "wealth and prosperity", but also the word "before" and of completeness. The latter is because the Mandarin Chinese word for "coin" () sounds like "before" (). An archaic Mandarin Chinese term for coins () sounds like the word for "complete" ().

In the island of Bali, Indonesia Pis Bolong (Chinese cash coins) are used as coin-charms and while both authentic and fake Chinese cash coins are used in various rituals and ceremonies by the Balinese Hindu community and used to make souvenir items for tourists, there exist many local versions of the Pis Bolong which are in fact amulets based on these cash coins. It is common for traditional Balinese families to have 200 pieces of Pis Bolong in their household to the point that cash coins could be found in almost every corner of every traditional household on the island.

Architecture

Liu Song dynasty tomb

On 13 August 2013 a video broadcast by Hubei TV (HBTV ) had revealed the discovery of an ancient tomb dating back to the Liu Song dynasty (Northern and Southern dynasties period) somewhere in June 2013, the tomb was unearthed at a construction site in the city of Xiangyang, Hubei. At this tomb several of its brick display images of Chinese cash coins. Other bricks inside of this tomb display the Chinese character . According to Liang Chao (), an archaeologist with the Xiangyang Archaeology Institute () the bricks with the Chinese character "" was probably the "logo" or "emblem" of the craftsman who constructed the bricks that were used to make the tomb, and note that perhaps Wang might have been a famous brand of tomb bricks during the Liu Song dynasty period. The owner of the tomb was identified by two bricks which contain the inscription , which note that the owner was named "Zong" () and originated from the city of Nanyang, Henan. The tomb was identified to have been constructed in the year 461 by an inscription on a brick which reads "Song Da Ming Wu Nian Zao" (, "Built in the 5th year of the Da Ming reign of the State of Song").

Not a single artifact was discovered inside of the Liu Sog dynasty era tomb which indicates that tomb robbers had looted it sometime in the distant past before its rediscovery.

Luo City Wall

During the Tang dynasty and later the Kingdom of Min periods a city wall in present-day Fuzhou, Fujian was constructed under Wang Shenzhi. The wall is made from bricks that display the design of an ancient Chinese cash coin. Construction of the wall began in the year 901 during the Tang dynasty and continued during the Kingdom of Min.

In the year 2012, about 1,100 years after its construction this wall was unearthed in Fuzhou. Historical records specifically mention the unusual cash coin design on the bricks used to build the "Luo city wall" () which is how archaeologists managed to identify the wall. Further confirmation that the archaeological find is indeed the famous "Luo City wall" constructed by the Kingdom of Min was later obtained when other bricks at the site were discovered to have the Chinese characters , which translates into English as the "Powerful Army", incorporated into their design. Wei Wu Jun was the name of the army Wang Shenzhi commanded. In 2012 the unearthed portions of the "Luo City wall" measures about 74 meters in length and around 8 meters in width.

According to historical records, the "Luo City wall" was severely damaged in battle during the Song dynasty period. During the People's Republic of China period the site where the "Luo City wall" once stood was used as a rubbish dump and would later become the location of a transport station.

Fangyuan Mansion

The famous Taiwanese architect Chu-Yuan Lee had designed the Fangyuan Building () in the city of Shenyang, Liaoning, which was completed in the year 2001. The 25-storey high-rise building is shaped like a stack of ancient Chinese cash coins. The Fangyuan Mansion has been described as one of the world's ugliest buildings.

The Fangyuan Mansion has been compared to the later made Guangzhou Circle due to its similar design features.

Taipei 101

The Taipei 101, which was officially classified as the world's tallest building from its opening in 2004 until the 2008 completion of the Shanghai World Financial Center in Shanghai, China,2001–10: Wins the contract for Taipei 101 (101 levels, 508 meters), then the world's tallest building. History – Company – Samsung C&T located in the city of Taipei, features a number of designs that are intended to attract good luck, among these architectural features are giant gold coins, in the shape of ancient Chinese cash coins, that adorn all four sides at the base of the tower.

Other lucky symbols from traditional Chinese culture incorporated into the design of the Taipei 101 include the fact that the building is divided into eight separate segments, which is an intentional lucky number choice because the number 8 in Mandarin Chinese sounds like the Mandarin word that means "wealthy". Furthermore, dragons and "auspicious clouds" decorate the skyscrapers corners.

Bank logos

Several logos of Chinese banks incorporate cash coins into their designs, this is because cash coins have become a cultural icon in China, and the cash coin motif has been incorporated in the logo design of a number of major banks. Some banks also incorporate other forms of ancient Chinese coinage into the designs of their emblems, for example the logo of the People's Bank of China is based on spade money from the Warring States Period.

The logo of the Bank of China includes in its design the archetypal cash coin motif. It changes the design by instead of incorporating a simple square centre hole, it uses a stylised version of the Chinese character as an abbreviation for . The logo of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China uses the standard cash coin motif, but instead of having a square centre hole, it uses a stylised version of the Chinese character "", which translates into English as "commercial". The stylised centre can also be interpreted as being a capital version of the Latin letter "I", representing the English word "industrial". The "centre hole" of the cash coin motif of the logo therefore represents the essence of the bank's name both in English and in Mandarin, the "Industrial and Commercial Bank of China". The logo of the China Construction Bank incorporates two Chinese cash coins, which are placed side-by-side with a slight overlap, this overlap gives the image a three-dimensional effect. Furthermore, small piece of the circular design of the cash coins has been removed so that they resemble two of the Latin letter "C". The two "C's" in this design stand for the English name of the bank, "China Construction". The logo of the Huaxia Bank incorporates the cash coin design by using white space rather than colouring it in. The white space surrounds a gray square and is enclosed by an auspicious red border based on a "jade dragon" from the Hongshan Culture.

The logos of a number of Vietnamese banks incorporate cash coin designs, these include the logos of the VietinBank, National Citizen Bank (Ngân Hàng Quốc Dân), Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank, and SeABank among others.

Banknotes

Imperial Chinese banknotes that were denominated in strings of cash coins often featured designs depicting physical strings of cash coins to showcase their nominal value, usually the higher their denomination was the more cash coins were displayed on the paper note.Google Arts & Culture – Chinese Ming Banknote from the collection of the British Museum. Retrieved: 14 September 2018.The British Museum – Ming dynasty paper money: scientific analysis -The inclusion of a fourteenth-century Ming note in "A History of the World in 100 Objects" has brought unprecedented attention to these objects by Dr. Helen Wang. Retrieved: 14 September 2018.

A Tang dynasty era Kaiyuan Tongbao () cash coin appears on the reverse side of a 2010 Hong Kong banknote issued by the Standard Chartered Bank with a face value of $1,000.

Bronze mirrors

It was reported on 5 January 2012 a bronze mirror incorporating a cash coin design were discovered during the excavation of a Song dynasty period tomb in Longwan Zhen (), Qianjiang, Hubei.

Ceramics

Chinese cash coins were used decoratively and symbolically at least as early as the Han dynasty period, and cash coin designs have been incised into the body of Chinese ceramics as early the Song dynasty period, such as with the Yaozhou meiping vase. But the usage of cash coin designs became more popular during the Ming dynasty period. During the 17th century cash coin-like "base-marks", or dikuan (), began to appear using the era names and reign titles of the contemporary monarch. Some of these base-marks are presented in a similar manner as cash coins and may contain inscriptions like Changming Fugui (), while others are direct imitations of cash coins and may even include cash coin inscriptions like Hongwu Tongbao ().

Commemorative coins