What is a lead cash coin?

Lead cash coins ( traditional Chinese: 鉛錢; simplified Chinese: 铅钱; pinyin: qiān qián; Vietnamese: Duyên tiền; [a] Japanese: 鉛銭 (なまりせん); Rōmaji: Namarisen) are a type of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese cash coin that were produced at various times during the monetary history of imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam.

What do lead coins teach us about history?

When we find lead coinage in history, it often indicates hard times, when nothing better was available. Lead coins and “coin-like artifacts” therefore receive little attention from numismatic scholars and even less from collectors. But these nasty bits of metal have something to teach us, if we are willing to learn.

What is the lead content in Chinese cash coins?

An analysis of the lead content in Chinese cash coins from history revealed that the lead content typically ranges from 10% to 20%, with the highest recorded lead percentage being found in 12th and 13th century bronze cash coins standing at 30% (which occurred during a time period of severe copper scarcity).