CHINA, brass souvenir pair 1990s-2010s

DescriptionThe old Asian coins continue to be a popular decorative motif, and any kind of Imitation or fantasy, or representation of any kind will find a buyer.China may have been the most monetized country in the world from the bronze age to today. Many times in history the people, left to their own devices by anarchy, and, sometimes, by government edict, made their own coins or tokens.There are two kinds of things that are called “medals.” One is things that look like coins but don’t express a value. Sometimes those medals are considerably larger than most coins. The other kind of medal is a metal thing designed to be displayed on one’s chest, often a reward for something, often in a military context. If the medal is small enough it is sometimes called a “medallet.”The word “exonumia” is used to describe all kinds of things that are “like” coins but are not coins. I wrote a blog post on that subject. Basic categories: 1. used like a coin but not issued by a national government, 2. looks like a coin but not made for spending, 3. other things that we are interested in.