Changes

Silver was typically carried in one-ounce ingots known as [[tael]]s, or ''liǎng'' in Chinese, which were not officially minted, and which were valued by weight, and not by fiat or nominal value. Though these were not standardized across the realm, and indeed the standard weights themselves were not standard from place to place, only certain shapes or forms for the ingots were widely produced or accepted. One of the most common was an ingot of 50 ''liǎng'', sometimes known by Europeans as the "shoe of sycee," for its shape which somewhat resembled a shoe (or perhaps a boat, or hat). This term derives from the Chinese ''xìsī'' (細絲, Cantonese: ''saisi''), literally meaning "fine silk," but used to refer to these shoe-shaped ingots. Though other shapes and forms circulated within China, ingots minted abroad were typically not used in their current state, but were instead melted down and re-formed into more typical Chinese forms by private Chinese money handlers, who would then imprint onto the ingot its weight and purity.

Silver was typically carried in one-ounce ingots known as [[tael]]s, or ''liǎng'' in Chinese, which were not officially minted, and which were valued by weight, and not by fiat or nominal value. Though these were not standardized across the realm, and indeed the standard weights themselves were not standard from place to place, only certain shapes or forms for the ingots were widely produced or accepted. One of the most common was an ingot of 50 ''liǎng'', sometimes known by Europeans as the "shoe of sycee," for its shape which somewhat resembled a shoe (or perhaps a boat, or hat). This term derives from the Chinese ''xìsī'' (細絲, Cantonese: ''saisi''), literally meaning "fine silk," but used to refer to these shoe-shaped ingots. Though other shapes and forms circulated within China, ingots minted abroad were typically not used in their current state, but were instead melted down and re-formed into more typical Chinese forms by private Chinese money handlers, who would then imprint onto the ingot its weight and purity.

From the 16th century onwards, Spanish silver dollars ("pieces of eight") began to circulate, especially in and around [[Guangzhou]]. As these were of a very standard weight and fineness, by the 19th century they were widely circulating as-is, rather than being melted down, especially in southern China.

From the 16th century onwards, [[Spanish dollar|Spanish silver dollars]] ("pieces of eight") began to circulate, especially in and around [[Guangzhou]]. As these were of a very standard weight and fineness, by the 19th century they were widely circulating as-is, rather than being melted down, especially in southern China.

The [[Mexican silver dollar]] replaced the sycee (''liǎng'') as the most commonly used form of silver from around 1850 onwards, with many merchants beginning to cite their prices in Mexican silver dollars, and some provincial governments even paying their employees in that form. The government began minting its own silver dollars in [[1910]], and using those instead of the tael as the chief unit of accounting, but only formally abolished the tael in 1933, replacing it officially with the silver dollar as the chief mode of national legal tender at that time.

The [[Mexican silver dollar]] replaced the sycee (''liǎng'') as the most commonly used form of silver from around 1850 onwards, with many merchants beginning to cite their prices in Mexican silver dollars, and some provincial governments even paying their employees in that form. The government began minting its own silver dollars in [[1910]], and using those instead of the tael as the chief unit of accounting, but only formally abolished the tael in 1933, replacing it officially with the silver dollar as the chief mode of national legal tender at that time.