Changes

==Paper==

==Paper==

Paper money was produced as early as the Song Dynasty, and continued to be in wide use until the 15th century, when the Court discontinued its production. From then until the early 20th century (with a few exceptions), paper money was not governmentally produced. However, in the 18th-19th centuries, private merchants widely used various forms of paper credit, or paper receipts for gold or silver, a system not entirely dissimilar to that employed by [[rice brokers]] in Japan. Though initially functioning merely as representative of actual gold or silver in the bank, for which such a receipt or note could be exchanged, this paper money quickly came to be given and accepted as representative of value in and of itself; with people less frequently trading in their notes for precious metals, money handlers found they could issue notes and not necessarily have to hold onto the full amount of gold or silver in their store. In the 19th century, as much as one-third of money in circulation might have been paper money. Counterfeiting and the like sometimes led to runs on the banks, however, which would then lead to banks going bankrupt, as they were not holding enough gold or silver to pay out to everyone who wished to trade in a note.

Paper money was produced as early as the Song Dynasty, and continued to be in wide use until the 15th century, when the Court discontinued its production. From then until the early 20th century (with a few exceptions), paper money was not governmentally produced. However, in the 18th-19th centuries, private merchants widely used various forms of paper credit, or paper receipts for gold or silver, a system not entirely dissimilar to that employed by [[rice brokers]] in Japan. Though initially functioning merely as representative of actual gold or silver in the bank, for which such a receipt or note could be exchanged, this paper money quickly came to be given and accepted as representative of value in and of itself; with people less frequently trading in their notes for precious metals, money handlers found they could issue notes and not necessarily have to hold onto the full amount of gold or silver in their store. In the 19th century, as much as one-third of money in circulation might have been paper money. Counterfeiting and the like sometimes led to runs on the banks, however, which would then lead to banks going bankrupt, as they were not holding enough gold or silver to pay out to everyone who wished to trade in a note.