Définition

• An elongated, nar- row, tablet-like shaped money supposed to have been derived from ancient metal checks said to have been current in the city of Tsi-an fu, the capital of Shantung, as far back as A.D. 1275, but as time went on, its circulation was not limited to this locality. They are now found in nearly all parts of China, although they appear tn be most popular in the Yang-tse regions. This subsidiary money was issued by small banks, exchange houses, contractors of la- bor, etc., to serve as a medium of small exchange according to the values indicated on them. Besides the value, the names of the issuers, as well as the address of their business place, is found on a great many of them.

  Their field of circulation was, as a rule, purely local, although no few extended over the limits to which they were first intended. Some, on the other hand, served as checks, to be redeemed for cash on pre- sentation. Others were intended to be used as tallies for calculating the amount of a journey, a day's work, or some other such purpose. The values inscribed on them are stated, in the majority of cases, in cash, and range from 1 Kwan (1000- cash) down to 1 cash denomination. Their sizes also vary, from six inches down to a little over one inch. The inscription is usually in relief, burnt with a stamping iron, and countermarks are sometimes added afterwards to prevent fraud. See Wooden Money.

La source

• Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)

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