Last year, archaeologists in Japan dug them up ... They modeled the pieces after Chinese coins with square holes in the middle. The holes allowed people to string large amounts of coins together.
Archaeologists Unearth More Than 100,000 Ancient Coins, Carrying Traits of China’s First Unified Currency Archaeologists ...
The coins were tied together in bundles with straw rope passed through a hole in the middle ... residences of important people in medieval Japan, the coins were likely hastily buried, perhaps ...