Item number: A2172

Year: AD 1644-1911

Material: Silver

Size: 23.0 x 14.6 x 6.2 mm

Weight: 6.25 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This sycee is even smaller than the commonly circulated small-form silver sycees of the Qing dynasty, known as “yin ke” (銀錁), weighing less than one tael—approximately 1.6 qian (a traditional weight unit). During the Qing period, such diminutive silver pieces were sometimes referred to as “dripping pearls” or “fortune pearls”.

Viewed from above, the sycee takes on an oval shape with an uneven contour. Its upper surface is roughly flattened and faintly inscribed with fine spiral striations; the rim slightly protrudes above the central plane. At the centre is a square-stamped character mark reading “Zhang Fang”, presumably the name of the maker. In the late Ming period, the presence of fine spiral lines was regarded as indicative of high silver purity, as they formed naturally during the casting process. With time, the technique to produce such striations became deliberate, and the presence of patterns no longer guaranteed quality. Consequently, the term “patterned silver” (wen yin) ceased to be a physical descriptor and came to function solely as a unit in accounting and taxation. The reddish rust visible on the surface may be copper(I) oxide or iron oxide, suggesting a relatively impure composition.

From a side view, the sycee resembles a semi-oval truncated along a chord, with the rim facing the obverse notably uneven. Minor pitting is observed on the reverse, a common result of manual casting techniques.

Sycees were a principal form of silver currency throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. As a type of weighed currency, they played a crucial role in commercial transactions, government taxation, and private savings. Their forms were highly diverse. The most common was the “yuanbao” or boat-shaped sycee, with upturned ends and a slightly concave centre for ease of stacking and transport. Other forms included rectangular, oval-waisted, horseshoe-shaped, bun-shaped, and grooved types. Weight was typically measured in taels, with standard units such as five, ten, fifty, or one hundred taels. In local circulation, small-denomination sycees were also widely used, such as one-tael or half-tael yuanbao, as well as miniature forms like “dripping pearls” or “fortune pearls”.

The production of sycees during the Qing dynasty was carried out by multiple agents. These included official smelting offices for tax collection, salt-tax merchants producing designated salt tax sycees, and private silversmiths, money shops, and commercial firms casting silver for trade, wage payments, and storage. Small-denomination sycees, such as the one described here, were likely used for day-to-day disbursements, such as payroll. The purity and weight of each sycee were assessed either by the market or official authorities, with trusted sycees typically bearing stamped verification marks to guarantee their credibility. The Qing government established official foundries throughout the empire to cast tax-related sycees, often marked with terms such as “kuping” (official weight standard) or “gonggu” (certified valuation), denoting compliance with governmental standards.

Some privately cast sycees bore auspicious characters such as “fu” (fortune), “xi” (joy), or “shou” (longevity), particularly when minted for celebratory or matrimonial purposes. In highly commercialised regions such as Yunnan and Sichuan, sycee forms were even more varied, including archway-shaped paifang sycees, triple-channelled three-groove sycees, and horseshoe types. The use of sycees persisted into the late Qing period until the reign of the Guangxu Emperor, after which they were gradually replaced by machine-minted silver dollars. With the advent of the Republic of China and the implementation of the “abolition of tael, introduction of yuan” monetary reform, sycees were progressively withdrawn from circulation and were ultimately abolished following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

物件編號: A2172

年代: 公元 1644-1911 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 23.0 x 14.6 x 6.2 mm

重量: 6.25 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

此枚銀錠較清代流行形制之小型銀錠，所謂銀錁，還要更小，不足一兩，大約1.6錢(重量單位)。清代有稱此種小銀錁為滴珠、福珠等者。

銀錠正面俯視呈橢圓形，輪廓不平滑，正面大略壓平，隱約有細螺紋，邊緣略出於平面，另有方戳字「張放」於中央。細螺紋於明晚期，是銀錠成色優良的象徵，會於鑄造過程中自然呈現。後發展出主動製造細紋的方式，不再能判斷成色，故「紋銀」一詞後僅作為會計稅收單位而存在。「張放」應為製作者名。銀錠表面紅鏽可能為氧化亞銅或氧化鐵，暗示了成色的不足。

銀錠側視呈以弦截去一弧的半橢圓形，朝銀錠面之邊稜不齊。銀幣背面有細微凹孔，乃手工澆鑄銀錠之自然現象。

銀錠是中國明、清二朝流通的重要白銀貨幣單位，為一種稱量貨幣，廣泛用於商業交易、官府稅收和儲蓄。銀錠的形制多元，其中最常見的為「元寶」形，即呈橢圓形或船形，兩端翹起，中間略凹，便於堆疊和攜帶。此外，還包括長方形、腰圓形、馬蹄形、饅頭形、槽銀等不同類型。銀錠的重量以“兩”為計量單位，常見規格有五兩、十兩、五十兩、一百兩等，而在地方流通中，小額銀錠也常見，如一兩或半兩的小元寶、銀錁，或滴珠、福珠。清代銀錠的鑄造主體包括官方鑄造的稅收銀錠、鹽商使用的鹽課銀錠，以及民間銀號、錢莊或商號自鑄的銀錠，後者用於貿易支付和存儲。而小單位的銀錠可能為這些組織日常給薪之用。銀錠的成色與重量由市場或官方估定，並刻有相應的公估印記，以保障其信用。清政府在全國多個地區設立銀爐，專門鑄造稅收銀錠，這些銀錠通常帶有「庫平」或「公估」標記，表明其符合官方規定的成色標準。有些自鑄銀錠，會因為節慶、婚嫁等原因，刻上「福」、「囍」、「壽」等文字。在雲南、四川等地，因貿易需求旺盛，銀錠的形制更加多樣，如雲南的牌坊銀、三槽銀和馬蹄銀等。清代銀錠的使用持續至晚清，直至光緒年間隨著銀元(銀幣)的推廣，以及民國時期「廢兩改元」政策的實施，銀錠才逐步退出流通領域，並最終在中共建政成立後被完全廢止。