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.

物件編號: A57

年代: 公元 1800 -1900 年左右

材料: 銀

尺寸: 36.93 x 60.60 mm

重量: 171.89 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

此物為雲南牌坊錠，表面有「公估童余段看」及「慶盛乾記匯號紋銀」的戳記。前者代表其鑒定人，後者代表其所屬錢莊。

雲南牌坊錠是中國銀錠史上一種非常重要且特殊的曆史貨幣，是雲南所鑄行的最主要也是最成功的銀兩稱重貨幣。 據《新纂雲南通志》記載：「光緒初年，奸詐百出，銀色有低至五六成者。至光緒十年前後，省城銀錢業傾銷銀兩各商家，始集會決議，創銷一種方長八角形之銀錠，名為牌坊錠。定為每錠重五兩上下，成色以九八(即百分之九十八)為標準。」上述文字指出牌坊錠始於光緒初年，即約為光緒十年前後。

雲南牌坊錠的歷史可以分為四個時期：公議與公估牌坊錠、匯號公估牌坊錠、公估牌坊錠以及官公估牌坊錠。可根據戳記上的字眼分辨該牌坊錠其所屬時期。本牌坊錠上戳記為「公估童余段看」，即屬於公估牌坊錠時期。

光緒中期始，公估牌坊錠開始流行。此種牌坊錠與匯號牌坊錠并無太明顯差異，只是將戳記中的匯號改為公估。公估組織在此時期發生重大的變動，原來的公估童福盛繼任，馮世有退出，同時又增加了佘慶盛、段通寶、周寶銓、陳元昌四位公估。公估驗色通常為三人同看，比匯號公估的二人驗色更為嚴格。 省城公估牌坊錠的特點是鑒定印上通常是由三人驗色，如：“公估童佘段看”、“公估童佘周看”、“公估童佘陳看”。因此會出現三種組合：童余段、童余周、童余陳。其中三種組合以公估童余段看最多，公估童余周看次之，公估童余陳看最少。牌坊錠是由兼銷鋪自行鑄造完成后，晚上交與公估店，再有公估人驗色合格后，加蓋公估印后才得以流通，如果成色不足則退回重鑄。到了清末民國時期，公估牌坊錠的驗色不再是嚴格遵照三人驗看的原則，出現了二人，甚至是一人驗看的情況也時有發生。如“公估周陳看”、“公估周看訖”等。清末民國初年，云南與其他省一樣，主要流通銀元，公估牌坊錠已失去主流貨幣的地位，因而在鑄造上也出現了不盡規范的情況。