The Chinese dynasty Ch'in started minting coins somewhere around 400BC. Due to the fact that the dynasty existed as a feudal state under the Zhou, at present these are listed under this particular dynasty. Historians mark the beginning of the dynasty in 255BC. This is the period when members of the dynasty were able to conquer Zhou. There are, however, some other versions regarding the starting point of the dynasty. Thus some say that 221BC is the year when Ch'in appeared – this is the time when the unification of China ended.

The dynasty itself is more likely to choose the year 325 BC, the time when Duke Hsuan Wen was granted the title of Emperor when he was victorious against the state of Wen and as a result managed to break the commitment of Ch'in to the Zhou dynasty.

Although it is accepted that Ch'in introduced its first coinage in 221 BC, during the period of China's unification, this acceptance is doubtful. In 221 the dynasty introduced the Pan Liang coinage, which marks the ending of knife and spade coinage. It is, however, believed that Pan Liang coins were struck before 221 BC, including a more sophisticated design.

It is worth mentioning that throughout the period of Zhou dynasty there was a direct link between the Liang applied as weight and the term Liang used as coin denomination. As weight Liang was equal to 12 grams. When the dynasty set control across China, the coins of Ch'in had a weight standard of six grams, but shortly after that the connection between Liang as weight and as coin denomination was no longer used.

The series of Ch'in coinage is complicated to classify due to the fact that the weight of coins ranged between 2 and 18 grams and their diameter varied between 14 and 34 millimeters. Numismatic experts believe that the diameter of coins issued by the Ch'in dynasty is the main feature that can lead to identifying the period of coins' striking. The Pan Liang coin series is hard to classify because of little archaeological information, however the Records of Han possess information that the heavy Pan Liang were struck until 187 BC. This is believed to refer to coins that had a diameter over 30 millimeters and weighted from 6 to 12 grams.

A lot of sources state that the large Pan Liang Chinese coins represented the central coinage of the Ch'in. Taking into consideration that very few coins were struck in this period, according to some sources, how come that these coins did not become common, being in circulation for more than 75 years? This could mean that the earlier ming knifes were widely used during the period of the Ch'in dynasty domination and it is possible that ming knifes along with square-foot spades might have been the main coinage of the dynasty.

The obverse of this Chinese coin features the legend that states "PAN LIANG" and the coin's reverse is blank. Such ancient Chinese coins had been issued in various weights, starting with 9 grams and till 18 grams.

There are very few examples of these Chinese coins and it is worth mentioning that collectors highly appreciate those Chinese coins that are heavier.

Experts consider that Pan Liang coins with a diameter 34 mm or more were issued among the first. It is probably that these coins were struck during the period when Ch'in was a sub-dynasty of the Zhou.

This particular Chinese coin features the inscription "PAN LIANG" on the obverse and its reverse is blank. Ancient Chinese coins of this type had a weight that ranged between 4 and 12 grams. Just like the previous specimen, collectors value the most coins that are heavier. Chinese coins of this type that are found in heavier weight are extremely rare.

It is believed that such coins were issued during the periods of the later Ch'in and early Han. There is probably no way that a person can classify these coins to one single dynasty. However, Pan Liangs that have a diameter of over 30 mm were surely issued during the Western Had dynasty.

Although these coins do not include the mint that struck them is it more likely that there were struck in different mints. There was probably some sort of identification of the mint and the time of issue of every coin. This is because such system has been applied to other Chinese coins for over a century. All coins issued during the Ch'in period had two characters on them: one was "PAN" and the other one "LIANG". These characters were bordered in a square hole. The reverse of these coins was always blank. The coins minted in Ch'in period featured sharp and unfinished edges.

After the suicide of Erh Shih Huang Ti, who was the emperor of the ruling Ch'in dynasty a civil war began. The event took place in 206BC. A number of rebels tried to take control of the country. There are no signs that some specific coins were issued during his period, it is more likely that people used Chinese coins that were minted during the Ch'in dynasty.