A Good-Luck Sycee Weighed 7 Maces and 2 Candareens

Stephen Tai
May 7, 1998

Inscription:

Xi - Happiness
Dimension: 33 (L) x 10 (W) x 17 (H) mm
Weight: 26 g ( around 7 maces and 2 candareens)

The shown sycee is a good-luck sycee in boat shape, cast in around late Ching or early Republican period, with inscription of a single character Xi, i.e. happiness. It was usually taken as a wedding's or birthday's present to someone.
Its weight, 7 maces and 2 candareens, is relatively small, if compared to those commonly seen good-luck sycee of one tael or two. However, it was, not at all, rarely seen in the past.
When silver coins weighed 7 maces and 2 candareens became welcomed by Chinese people, some silversmiths also followed the same weight in making sycee, so as to have sycee compete with coins by facilitating the users of the sycee to use them as same as to use silver coins. The shown sycee could be generated under such background.