The “shovel coin” (bù bì, 布幣), whose name derives from the tools used in everyday agriculture, replaced cowrie shells (shells of the gastropod Cypraea moneta). These were small bronze coins of various shapes, initially without inscriptions, which circulated during the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–256 BC) and evolved into coins with inscriptions identifying places, dates and heraldic symbols that tell a story. A history filled with events, in a China that was not unified, where warlords were the protagonists.

Their minting was interrupted after eight centuries by the unification of China under the 秦 Ch'in (Qin) dynasty, which would adopt another type of coin, the sapeca. The shovel coin would return to circulation when 王莽 Wang Mang usurped power and ruled from 7 to 22 AD, creating the short-lived 新 Hsing (Xin) dynasty.

The varieties of coins found in different locations are a testimony that leads us to better understand this ancient and still little-known country.