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Yunnan Packsaddle Sycee
雲南牌坊錠
Item number: A57
Year: AD 1800 -1900s
Material: Silver
Size: 36.93 x 60.60 mm
Weight: 171.89 g
Provenance:
1. Noonans 2022
2. D.L.F. Sealy Collection
This item is a Yunnan Packsaddle Sycee , with markings “Inspected by public assayers Tong , Yu, Duan (公估童余段看)” and “Qingshengqian Bank, remittance bank fine silver (慶盛乾記匯號紋銀)” on the surface. The former represents the assayers, while the latter denotes the affiliated bank.
The Yunnan Packsaddle Sycee was an important and unique historical currency in the history of Chinese sycee, and it is the most significant and successful currency issued by Yunnan. According to the “New Compilation of Yunnan Gazetteer”, “In the early years of the Guangxu reign, there were many deceptions, and the silver content dropped as low as five or six percent. Around the tenth year of the Guangxu reign, the silver currency industry in the provincial capital was dominated by various merchants, and they convened to propose the creation of a square octagonal silver sycee named ‘Packsaddle Sycee’. It was determined that each sycee would weigh around five taels, with a standard fineness of ninety-eight (i.e., ninety-eight percent).” The above text indicates that the Packsaddle Sycee originated in the early years of the Guangxu reign, approximately around the tenth year of the Guangxu reign.
The history of the Yunnan Packsaddle Sycee can be divided into four periods: the Public Consensus and Public Assay Packsaddle Sycee period, the Remittance Bank Assay Packsaddle Sycee period, the Public Assay Packsaddle Sycee period, and the Official Public Assay Packsaddle Sycee period. The period to which this sycee belongs can be distinguished based on the wording on the markings, “public assayers (公估)”, indicating it belongs to the Public Assay Packsaddle Sycee period.
In the mid-Guangxu reign, the Public Assay Packsaddle Sycee began to gain popularity. This type of Packsaddle Sycee did not have a significant difference from the Remittance Bank Assay Packsaddle Sycee; it simply changed the wording in the markings from ‘Remittance Bank’ to ‘Public Assay’.
There were significant changes in the public assay organization during this period: the original assayer Tong Fusheng was succeeded by Feng Shiyu, while Shi Qingsheng, Duan Tongbao, Zhou Baoquan, and Chen Yuanchang were added as assayers. The public assay process usually involved three assayers, which was stricter than the inspection by two assayers in the Remittance Bank Assay Packsaddle Sycee period. Among them, Tong and Yu both appear in the appraiser’s marking, indicating they were common appraisers; the remaining third seat was taken by Duan Tongbao, Zhou Baoquan, and Chen Yuanchang in rotation, and it was the only value appraisal that had to be re-elected annually. Therefore, three combinations may appear: Tong Yu Duan, Tong Yu Zhou, and Tong Yu Chen. Among the three combinations, Tong Yu Duan is the most common, followed by Tong Yu Zhou, and Tong Yu Chen is the least common. After the Packsaddle Sycee was cast and completed by the consignment store, it was handed over to the public consensus shop at night. After passing the color inspection by the public assayers, their seal was stamped on it before it could be circulated. If the fineness was insufficient, it would be returned for recasting.
By the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China period, the color inspection of the Public Assay Packsaddle Sycee was no longer strictly adhered to the principle of being inspected by three people, and there were cases of being inspected by two people, or even one person, such as “Inspected by public assayers Zhou Chen” and “Inspected by public assayers Zhou”. In the early years of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, Yunnan, like other provinces, mainly circulated silver dollars, and the Public Assay Packsaddle Sycee had lost its status as the mainstream currency. Therefore, irregularities in casting also appeared.