During the Warring States Period, the "Ying City" of Chu (Ying City is the capital of Chu and Gui City is the unit of monetary weight) has a history of about 2,500 years, and it is the earliest gold currency discovered by China. There are two kinds of weighing money, one is a square or rectangular gold plate, and the other is an oblate gold cake. The former is more common. When in use, the gold plate or cake is cut into small pieces as needed, and then weighed with a special equal arm balance for exchange. Therefore, most of the unearthed Chu gold coins are scattered fragments, which vary greatly in size and weight. After the circulation of "Wei", the cut marks are clearly visible. During the Warring States period, the circulation of gold was limited to the upper class, and it was only used when countries engaged in courtesy, lobbied princes, kings gave gifts, and traded in large quantities.

The reason why Chu was able to use gold as currency at the earliest time in China was that Chu was rich in gold resources. Chu gold coins are made of high-grade natural gold nuggets.