Unsearched Han, Tang, Song, Ming, & Qing Dynasty Royal Family Coin Collection - This lot is a huge, unsearched lot of ancient Chinese coins, from the Han, Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties. These coins come from a private, royal family collection, and have been passed down through the generations of their family for over 80 years. Chinese people started using coins as currency in around 1,200 BC, where instead of trading small farming implements and knives, they would melt them down into small round objects and then turn them back into knives and farm implements when needed. Around 206 BC, copper coins replaced the melted down tools. At the time they were of a very low value and often had holes in the middle so that they could be strung together to create larger denominations. This is truly a modern day treasure hunt.