The pictured item was among a lot of Chinese coins recently received from a very reputable supplier (Only Linda).
I'm sure I've seen a similar item somewhere, but can't find the reference.
The piece measures 25mm x 16mm and weighs 2.9g. The reverse is flat and plain.
What is it?
One place, "Calgary Coins", has an on-line white paper that does a good job of presenting money related objects from China. JM
Only Linda has just listed a similar piece, described as:
Ordos Late Bronze Age (c.1600-1200 BC) special money Mark 10
Strictly speaking, the piece is not Chinese - the Ordos people came from a region some 300km north of Beijing.
I trust, somewhat, "Linda's Coins" on eBay. See item # 270553511898 (25 Mar 2010) for info on this type of Ordos 'special money'. Please update listing if appropriate, this time sensitive comment will eventually be scrubbed. Is the character mentioned in the eBay listing (I didn't see it) the one shown on this piece? JM
The piece in the listing I mentioned had the character Shi (10) between the holes. This later listing has Yi (1) above one hole.
This information comes from the listing:
The Ordos culture comprises the period from Upper Paleolithic to the late Bronze age at the Ordos Desert, in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, about 300 kilometers from modern Beijing. The area of the Ordos were predominantly Mongoloid known from their skeletal remains and artifacts, but numerous interactions between Europoid and Mongoloid might had also taken place there over the course of several centuries, until its occupation by Qin and Han dynasties.