Modern Chinese Sycee Ingot Barter & Trade

Modern Chinese Sycee Ingot III Barter & Trade

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  Jump to navigationJump to searchA 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.