The times., 1899-07-10
THE CHINESE CURRENCY.
copper Coins Disappearing and Sill
Yer Coming Into Use

Ner coming Into Use.
The recent reports which indicate that
the Chinese copper coins known as cash
are disappearing because Of their appre-
ciatins value and that silver coins are to
MI the vacancy thus created in the curren-
cy OF China, lends special interest to A
statement recently prepared by the Treas
ury Bureau OF Statistics regarding the cur
rency OF China. The money OF China. II
says, is uncertain as to quantity and quail
lty' NO accurate estimate has ever been
made Of the amount of money in circu-
latton in the Empire. while no accurate
statement can be made today Of what its
value will be tomorrow. Based upon sill
yer, its gold price fiuctuates with the
changes in the market price of silver. The
copper cash valued at about one-tenth
of cent, is the actual circulating me-
dium. while the tael is the nominal stand
ard for larger sums, it being merely a
given weight of silver. and not coin.
Actual silver circulates in two forms, the
dollar" and the '.sycee." The dollar was
originally the Mexican dollar. and became
popular and generally accepted form OF
currency wherever obtained. So conven-
lent was it that large quantities were i'm
ported for use as currency. More recent
ly, however. mints for the coinage OF dol
lars purporting TO be OF weight and fine
ness equal to Mexican dollars have been
established, not by the central Govern
ment, but by the authorities Of the va
rious provinces. and the result is that the
rivalry between these provincial mints has
reduced the weight and fineness of the
dollar" which they issue until the provln-
cial silver dollars are looked upon with
distrust Additional mints. however. are
being established. the machinery for them
being from the United States. Some hals
dozen of the cities of China now have
their mints for the coinage of dollars,
and work is in progress upon local mints
in other cities, SO that by the end Of the
present year. according to a recent issue
OF the North China Daily News" at least
ten different kinds of silver coins, pur-
porting to be dollars will be upon tho
market In addition to this uncertainty
may be pointed out the fact that the
''tael" differs in various cities and pro-
yinces, the weight OF silver recognized az
tael being greater at some points than
at others. The consequence is that wnlie
the haikwan, or customs, teal was worth,
on January l. 1899. 1872 cents (gold), the
Annoy tael was worth but II cents, the Can
ton tael, 7O.S cents; the Chinkiang tael,
69.3; the Ningpo tael, 6S.2: the Chefoo tasi,
81 9; the Hankow tael, 66.4; the Foochow
tael, $50, and the Shanghai tael 6i.s- Even
the ..sycee." which is an actual quantity
of silver cast in the form OF shoe with
the weight written upon 1t In Chinese
characters, is somewhat uncertain as to
its value, both by reason OF the constant
fluctuation in the price OF the silver which
1t contains and the uncertainty as to the
fineness of the silver used.
All efforts to learn the exact fineness OF
the standard silver used in the sycee have
been unsuccessful, though the estimates
put the rate at ninety-seven one-hun-
dredths, which is considerably in excess
OF the American coin, which is ninety one
hundredths fine The sycee is merely an
indefinite quantity cast in the form OF a
womans shoe, its actual weight being de-
termined by agents or officers appointed
by the merchants to weigh the sycees, ac-
curacy and integrity on their part being
'assured by actual physical decapitation Of
those who are found dishonest. Even the
cash" a copper and zinc coin about the
size of our 25-cent piece, having square
hole in the centre for convenience in
stringing quantities of them together va
ries greatly both in fneness and weight, in
some cases LOCO of them being equal to a
dollar" while in others nearly 2,OGO are
required to equal dollar" Gold coin is
practically unknown in China, no coins of
this metal being made at the mints, and
gold coins of other countries have seldom,
if ever, circulated. though the value of the
metal is fully recognized, and gold, wheth-
er in coin or bulk. proves medium OF ex-
change upon determination OF its weight
and fneness when occasion requires. But
there being no authority for its coinage, it
is merely a commodity, as silver is in
Great Britain and other countries having
the gold standard undehled.
The uncertainty as to the quality and
quantity of the metals contained in the
various coins and measures OF weight
makes an attempt to indicate the relative
weight of the monetary units difficult and
somewhat uncertain, though a recent con-
sular statement puts the relative values as
follows:
Ten cash is equal to l conderin; 10 con-
derin to l mace; 10 mace to 1 tael; l tael
to 1-S ounces (avoirdupois) of silver
Value of haikwan tael on January 1, 1892
72.2c)
Mexican dollars and local dollars thus
equal about three-fourths of one haikwan
tael in value, though no official relation
ship exists save in the weight and fineness
of metal in the dollars compared with the
standard tael.
All customs duties are collected in what
is known as the ''haikwan tael," which
has a somewhat higher value than the tasl
standard accepted in the respective cities.
lie DU DIABLE.