 In order to centralise and standardise the Chinese monetary system, Qin Shi Huang had abolished the existing forms of money.He then stipulated that the new monetary system of the Qin dynasty would consist of a two tier system with a "higher" form of currency (上幣) made of gold and a "lower" form of currency (下幣) made of bronze, which was the Ban Liang.The Qin dynasty's Ban Liang cash coin was introduced as a way to standardise all forms of currency and its name reflected this as it would always weigh half a tael; these coins were mostly made from bronze, though a silver Ban Liang variant is known to exist.