Date: Southern Song (AD 1127-1279)
Dimensions: Full Length 130.33 mm, Upper Width 17.10 mm, Lower Width 17.47 mm
Material: Gold
Gold and silver money and bullion were generally not in circulation in the Tang and Song periods, but mainly used for reward, tax payments, etc. All the known gold bars were minted in the Southern Song dynasty. The bars were different in length. Usually a 12 cm gold bar weighed approximately one Liang at that time and was mainly used for reward, tax payments, hedging, deposit and commercial payments. This gold plate also weighs one Liang. It is stamped with Chen Er Lang Shi Fen Jin and Tie Xian Xiang. ‘Chen Erlang’ is the name of the artisan; ‘Shi Fen Jin’ refers to the relative purity of the gold bar; and ‘Tie Xian Xiang’ is the street name of the capital Lin'an of the Southern Song, also referring to the geographic location of the goldsmith.