Thai and Vietnamese Silver Ingots
Circulated in China During Ch'ing Dynasty

Stephen Tai
September, 05, 1998

Thai Toks

Left:	Right:
40 x 38 mm	52 x 52 mm
62 g (1 Tamlung)	62 g (1 Tamlung)
1615-1768 in Chiengmai in the northern Thailand.

Vietnamese Silver Bar
Dimensions: 120(L) x 28(W) x 19(H)
Weight: 375g
Dated year of

(Gui-Si) in the reign of

(Minh-Mang) (AD 1833)

Chang Yuong Shen, an former employee of a silver shop in Yunnan at early this century, in his memoir published in 1962 memorized that during the years he served in the silver shop, many people in Yunnan went across the borders to earn their livings in the neighboring countries, such as Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Thailand, by doing business or working in mines there. Usually, they went in Spring, and returned in Autumn, every time they came back with millions of taels of silver from those countries.
He further indicated that, most of those silver were cast in Vietnam, Thailand and Burma, they specifically were Vietnamese silver bars Jiao Tiao, and Thai and Burmese silver cakes (Tai Bin, Mien Bin). He said, the silver bars which were of better finesse were given the same value of the local standard sycee in even weight, as for the silver cakes, they were of less silver contents, users would have to pay remedial silver to cover the shortage.
We can now easily recognize what were the Vietnamese silver bars he mentioned; the shown silver bar should be one of them. As for the silver cakes, most likely Mr.Chang was talking about Thai Toks which had varieties cast in different reigns and places in Thailand. Two specimens are given above.
Almost all the silver bars or cakes were melt, after coming into Yunnan and before putting into circulation, as to cast the typical Yunnan silver currency — Saddle Sycee. However, due to Vietnamese silver bars were of better finesse as aforementioned, some of them were exceptionally used in the local markets without recasting. As for the silver cakes, their silver finesse were not up to the local standard, apparently all went to furnaces for making Saddle Sycee.

Sycee Review

Thai and Vietnamese Silver Ingots Circulated in China During Ch'ing Dynasty

Thai and Vietnamese Silver Ingots
Circulated in China During Ch'ing Dynasty