Modern Chinese Sycee Ingot III Barter & Trade
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Silver sycee
Drawing of a boat-shaped silver sycee
Imperial gold sycee
Silver sycee
Gold sycee and molds
A
sycee[n 1] (
/ˈsaɪsiː, saɪˈsiː/;
[2][1] from
Cantonese 細絲,
sai-sì, lit. "fine
silk")
[2][3] or
yuanbao (
Chinese:
t 元寶,
s 元宝,
p yuánbǎo, lit. "coin pouch") was a type of
silver or
gold ingot currency used in
imperial China from its founding under the
Qin dynasty until the fall of the
Qing in the 20th century. Sycee was not made by a central bank or mint but by individual
silversmiths for local exchange; consequently, the shape and amount of extra detail on each ingot were highly variable. Square and oval shapes were common, but the boat, flower, tortoise, and others are known. Their value—like the value of the various silver coins and little pieces of silver in circulation at the end of the
Qing dynasty—was determined by experienced money handlers (
shroffs), who estimated the appropriate discount based on the purity of the silver and evaluated the weight in
taels and the progressive decimal subdivisions of the tael (
mace,
candareen, and
cash).
In present-day China, gold sycees remain a symbol of wealth and prosperity and are commonly depicted during the
Lunar New Year festivities. Paper imitations of gold- or silver-colored paper are burned along with
hell money as a part of
Chinese ancestral veneration for
Tomb Sweeping Day and the
Ghost Festival.