EMPIRE OF CHINA - QING (CH’ING) OR MANCHU DYNASTY (1644-1912)
KUNMIN, YUNNAN PROVINCE - FANG YONG YUAN BANK
SYCEE SADDLE OR PACK SADDLE MONEY (SANCHUA JIEDING); ALSO CALLED PAI FANG DING OR "GATEWAY MONEY"
RARE 5 TAELS SILVER THREE STAMP REMITTANCE INGOT BAR
THE FIRST CHINESE SYCEE (WHICH COMES FROM THE CHINESE WORD FOR "FINE SILVER") INGOTS ARE DATED BY SOME SCHOLARS TO THE MONGOL (YUAN) DYNASTY (1279-1368 AD) OR EARLIER. THEY WERE MADE BY BANKS AND PRIVATE FIRMS AND USED TO FACILITATE THE STORAGE OF SILVER BY THE WEALTHY. OFFICIAL ASSAYERS WOULD OFTEN STAMP THE INGOTS TO VERIFY THEIR QUALITY. DURING THE 19th AND EARLY 20th CENTURIES, EUROPEAN TRADE WITH CHINA REVITALIZED TRADE IN SYCEE, BUT SYCEE PRODUCTION WAS EVENTUALLY BANNED BY THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT.
THE CHARACTERISTIC AND DIVERSE SYCEE SHAPES WERE DISTINCT AND PECULIAR TO REGION, AND DEPENDED ON THE MOLD, STAMPING AND CUTTING OF THE INGOT, EACH TYPE BEING STANDARDIZED ACCORDING TO WEIGHT MEASURED IN TAELS.
THIS TYPE OF SYCEE FROM YUNNAN WAS CALLED PAI-FANG-DING BECAUSE OF THE RESEMBLANCE IN SHAPE TO THE PAI-FANG, THE TRADITIONAL CHINESE GATEWAY. IN YUNNAN, THESE WERE ALSO COMMONLY CALLED KUNG-KOO YIN, OR ASSAYED SILVER. CHARACTERIZED BY THE THREE STAMP TROUGHS ON ITS FACE, THIS YUNNAN PROVINCE SADDLE OR SADDLE PACK SHAPED SYCEE WAS STAMPED DEEPER ON THE ENDS WITH FORCE, DEPRESSING THE ENDS LIKE "TONGUES". IT ALSO APPEARS CINCHED OR WASPED AT THE "WAIST" AND ASSAYERS' COLUMN STAMPS FLANK THE RECTANGULAR STAMP AT CENTER.
THE FACE OF THIS PARTICULAR YUNNAN SANCHUO JIEDING IS STAMPED "FANG HONG YUAN HAO HUI HAO WEN YIN (FANG YONG BANK, REMITTANCE BANK FINE SILVER)" IN THE CENTER AND FLANKING RIGHT "GUAN GONG GU ZHOU CHEN KAN (INSPECTED BY OFFICIAL PUBLIC ASSAYERS ZHOU AND CHEN)" AND LEFT "GUAN GONG GU TONG SHE KAN (INSPECTED BY OFFICIAL ASSAYERS TONG AND SHE)". THERE IS A PUNCH TEST MARK IN THE CENTER OF THE INGOT.
LOCAL BANKS IN THE PROVINCE OF YUNNAN, IN OR NEAR KUNMIN, AGREED TO STANDARDIZED WEIGHT AND PURITY REGARDING THE MANUFACTURE OF SADDLE MONEY INGOTS. THE KUNMIN SCALE OF STANDARDIZED WEIGHT FOR 5 TAELS WAS 180 GRAMS.
5 TAEL SYCEE CONTAINS 183.76 GRAMS OF .960+ FINE SILVER (5.6723+ OZS ASW)
58 MM IN LENGTH 40 MM IN WIDTH AND 17 MM IN DEPTH
