The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-07-13
THE CURRENCY Of CHINA.
IT II vEnY uHCEnrAIS IN GUAM
TITY AND VALUE.
naFlly, Although Mexican Dollars
Are Used Largely for Coaven-

Special Dispatch to the Posi- Intelligencer.
WASHINGTON, July 1.-THE recent
reports which indicate the Chinese copper
CONS known as ~cash'' are disappearing
because OF their approaching value. and
that silver coins are 10 I'll the vacancy
Thus creahd In the currency Of China lends
special interest 10 a statement recently
prepared BY the treasury bureau OF statis-
tics regarding the currency OF China. The
money OF China. 4 says, is uncertain as to
quantity and quality. No accurate esti-
mate has been made OF the amount OK
money IN circulation In the empire, while
no accurate statement can be made today
Of what IS value win be tomorrow. Based
upon silver, It's value fiuctuates with the
changes In the market price Of silver The
copper cash" valued az about one-tenth
Of cent. is the actual circulating medium.
while the tael Is the nominal standard
for larger sums. ii being merely gwen
weight of silver, and not coin. Actual
silver circuiates In two forms, the dollar
and the "ycee-" The dollar was originally
the Mexican dollar, and became a popular
and generally accepted form OF currency
wherever obtained. So convenient was II
that large quantities were imported for use
~ currency. More recently. however.
u1ints for the coinage OF dollars purporting
to be Of weight and fineness equal to Mex
lean dollars have been established, not by
it.es OF the various provinces. and the re-
suit IL that the rivalry between these pro-
vinc.al msnts has reduced the weight and
fneness Of the dollars" which they issue
until the provincial silver dollars are
looked upon with distrust. Additional
mints. however. are being established. the
machinery for them being from the United
States Some half e dozen OF the cities OF
China now have their minis for the coinage
OF dollars" and work is In progress upon
local minis In other cities. so that by the
end Of the present year. according to
recent issue Of the North China Daily
News at least ten different kinds OF silver
coins purporting to be dollars viii be
upon the market. In addition to this I'M
certainty may be pointed out the fact that
the "taef' differs In various cities and
provinces. the weight Of silver recognized az
q taei being greater al some points than at
others The consequence Ii that while the
ha.kwan. or customs. tael was worth on
January 1. 1889. IA cents (gold. the
Annoy tael was worth but n cents. the
Canton tael EOS cents, the Chtnkiang tael
6es cents. the Ningpo tael ga cents. the
Chefoo tael 67.9 cents. the Hankow tael
66.4 cents. the Foochew tael 6A6 cents and
the Shanghai tael GAS cents. Even the
"sycee." which Is an actual quantity OF ssl-
yer cast In the form OF a shoe, with the
weight written upon 1t in Chinese charac-
y,
both by reason Of the constant iuctuaton
IN the price of the silver which ii contains
and the uncertainty as to the hneness OF
the silver utilized.
All efforts 20 learn the exact hness OF
the standard silver used In the sycee have
been unsuccessful though the estimates
put the rate At 97-100 which Is consider
ably in excess OF the American coin. which
Is 90-100 nne. The sycee is merely an In
definite quantity cast In the form Of q
woman's shoe. cts 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
insured by actual physical decapitation of
those who are found dishonest. Even the
cash" a copper and zinc coin about the
size Of our 2S-cent piece. having square
hole in the center for convenience IN
stringing quantities OF them together, va
ries greatly both I'm fineness and weight.
In some cases loo OF them being equal to
q dollar" while In others nearly 2000 are
required to equal dollar" Gold coin Is
practically unknown in China. no CONS Of
this metal being made ut the MINIS and
gold coins OF other countries have seldom
ever circulated. though the value OF
the metal is fully recognized. and gold,
whether In coin or bulk, proves a medium
or exchange upon determination of its
weight and flneness when occasion re-
Quires.
The uncertainty as to the quality and
quantity OF the metals contained in the
various coins and measures OF weight
makes an attempt 10 indicate the relative
weight OF the monetary units difficult and
somewhat uncertain. though a recent Of
fetal tconsular) statement puts the rela-
tive values as follows:
10 cash, conderin 10 condemn, l mace;
10 mace. ! taei: tael. 1-3 ounces .(avoir.
dupois) OF silver. Value OF haikwan tael
on Jan. I. 1899. z 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 taei." which
has somewhat higher value than the tael
standard accepted in the respective cities
The following table shows the value OF
rhe .aeis OF the respective provinces where
issued on January l. In 1897. 1895 and 1885,
and on April l. 1889:
January April