Remedial Saddle Sycee

Stephen Tai
Mar.25, 1998

	Hu Wan Yi Bank, Remittance Bank's Fine Silver. Checked by Official Assayer Ser Ching Sheng and Jo Bao Chuan. Additional chop: Ku Weight: 200g
	Chang Hong Jun Bank, Remittance Bank's Fine Silver. Checked by Official Assayer Tong, Ser, Jo, Chen. Additional chop: Hu Weight: 184g
	Wu Wan Sheng Bank, Remittance Bank's Fine Silver. Checked by Public Assayer Tong, Ser, Jo. Additional chop: Jong Weight: 185g

In Kuang Hsu 30^th year (1904) Saddle sycee (Pai Fang Dings) were accepted by Yunnan provincial government as tax silver, hence its local governments were permitted to submit taxes as they collected to the provincial government in the form of saddle sycee.
The stipulated purity of saddle sycee was 98%. It was one of the exceptional cases in Ching Dynasty that a sycee with purity inferior to pure silver could be accepted as tax silver.
With a view to make up the insufficient purity of saddle sycee - 2% less than pure silver - the provincial government commanded that any tax silver whichever was paid by saddle sycee would have to add 2% as remedial silver.
According to further practices that remedial silver must be stamped on with additional chop marks: Ku, Hu and Jong, as to separate them from other regular tax silver. Then, they were saved into a special fund for purpose of political reform campaigned by the Central government. 3 stamps were severally coming from different treasuries of Yunnan.