BEIJING—Thousands of coins dating from the Han Dynasty (202 B.C. to 220 A.D.) have been found in China’s Inner Mongolia Region, along with more than 100 casting molds in a coin workshop. The coins were discovered in three pits in the ancient site of Huoluochaideng. Police found the coins after solving a looting case. Lian Jilin of the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology says that the coins and molds will add to the study of the ancient monetary system and casting technology.
Ancient Mint Unearthed in Northern China
News December 31, 2012
Recommended Articles
Off the Grid November/December 2026
San Agustín, Colombia
Archaeologists are finally deciphering the mystery megaliths of a vanished Andean people
Letter from Cape Canaveral November/December 2026
Dawn of the Space Age
Archaeologists have made surprising discoveries spanning 3,000 years at the birthplace of American space exploration
Features November/December 2026
Kingdom of Fortresses
How diverse and far-flung Iron Age chiefdoms united to challenge the Assyrian Empire
Features November/December 2026
A Tomb of One’s Own
Life behind the scenes in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings
-
Features November/December 2012
Zeugma After the Flood
New excavations continue to tell the story of an ancient city at the crossroads between east and west
(Hasan Yelken/Images & Stories) -
Letter from India November/December 2012
Living Heritage at Risk
Searching for a new approach to development, tourism, and local needs at the grand medieval city of Hampi
(Gethin Chamberlain) -
Artifacts November/December 2012
Beaker Vessels
Ceramic beakers were the vessels of choice for the so-called “Black Drink” used at Cahokia by Native Americans in their purification rituals
(Linda Alexander, photographer, use with permission of the Illinois State Archaeological Society) -
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2012
The Desert and the Dead
(Courtesy Bernardo Arriaza)