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==Copper==
==Copper==
[[File:Kaiyuan.jpg|right|thumb|200px|An example of a ''kaiyuan tongbao'' coin, such as were first issued in [[621]]]]
[[File:Kaiyuan.jpg|right|thumb|400px|An example of a ''kaiyuan tongbao'' coin, such as were first issued in [[621]]]]
The standard unit of currency was the ''qián'' (銭, "cash"), referring to a single copper coin. These coins, roughly one inch in diameter, were minted by the central government in one of a small number of regional mints, and were imprinted with the name of the reigning emperor. As these had a very low monetary value, it quickly became common to carry cash in strings of roughly 1000 coins known as ''chuàn'' (串). As a whole string would be accepted by merchants without painstakingly counting the coins or weighing them individually, this allowed consumers and merchants alike to overlook issues of coins which were of uneven weight, e.g. those worn down over time. Though the currency system was in theory based on the weight (and therefore net value) of the precious metals, through the spread and acceptance of these strings, it became ''de facto'' a system of fiat money - valued not by weight but by nominal monetary value of a given number of coins.
The standard unit of currency was the ''qián'' (銭, "cash"), referring to a single copper coin. These coins, roughly one inch in diameter, were minted by the central government in one of a small number of regional mints, and were imprinted with the name of the reigning emperor. As these had a very low monetary value, it quickly became common to carry cash in strings of roughly 1000 coins known as ''chuàn'' (串). As a whole string would be accepted by merchants without painstakingly counting the coins or weighing them individually, this allowed consumers and merchants alike to overlook issues of coins which were of uneven weight, e.g. those worn down over time. Though the currency system was in theory based on the weight (and therefore net value) of the precious metals, through the spread and acceptance of these strings, it became ''de facto'' a system of fiat money - valued not by weight but by nominal monetary value of a given number of coins.