A Small Official Sycee
in Late Ming or Early Ching Dynasty

Stephen Tai
Apr.11, 1998

Inscription: Guang, means Officialž
Dimension: 37 (L) x 17 (W) x 15 (H) mm
Weight: 50 g (1 tael and 4 maces)

The shown sycee was inscribed with one character Guang, which means officialž. Most likely it had been an official sycee employed in the past.
The face and the bottom of it are almost flat, the rim is not very salient, and the waist is small but curved in of large degree. All these characteristics are distinct from sycee circulated in the prime time of Ching dynasty, but very similar to the pattern of late Ming to early Ching dynasty.
In late Ming and early Ching Dynasty, the official collected taxes from people only in pure silver, sometimes people would borrow the word of Guang (Official) to specify the purity of silver they demanded in trade. In such a case, this sycee could be mean a silver with purity up to official standard, i.e. pure silver.