By Andy Dickes

ANA Money Museum highlights examples of the world’s oldest
existing notes.

No civilization has contributed more to the development of
numismatics than China; in fact, the word “cash” originally was used to
describe bronze coins with square center holes used during the Tang Dynasty
(A.D. 618-907). China’s most lasting innovation is paper money that was created
in the 7th century. Western civilization didn’t begin to follow the lead on
this practical concept until the 17th century.

The Chinese introduced “flying cash” during the Tang Dynasty
in the form of privately issued paper bills of credit. Early in the Song
Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.), circulating promissory notes were used to make up for
a shortage of copper for coins. Paper money as we know it debuted during the
Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), which issued “exchange certificates” without date
limitations. The Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1206-1367) banned coinage altogether,
relying on paper exclusively. This dependence on paper money was witnessed by
Italian explorer Marco Polo, who first reported its widespread use, to the
astonishment of the Western world.

Some of the first surviving specimens of paper money date to
the 14th century at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), during the
reign of the Hongwu (or Hung-Wu) emperor from 1368 to 1398. These notes were
quite large (about 22.5 x 13.4cm) and made from mulberry bark. They were issued
in denominations of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 1,000 cash. Later in Hongwu’s
reign, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-, 20-, 30-, 40- and 50-cash notes also were
produced.

The Edward C. Rochette Money Museum features an authentic
1,000-cash (1-kuan) note in its “History of Money” exhibit. The design consists
of 10 strings of copper coins surrounded by geometric designs and Chinese
characters. Each string is composed of 100 copper coins, representing the note’s
value of 1,000 cash. Notes like the kuan were used for centuries alongside
strings of copper coins and large silver ingots.

The Money Museum debuted a popular “Paper Money
Extravaganza” exhibit in 1986. To celebrate the opening of the display’s international
section, the ANA commissioned the production of a set of replica 1-kuan notes,
which were produced by Thomas Leech of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and made of
mulberry bark paper. The front design was photographically superimposed using
authentic examples. The back, which would normally bear a red government seal
and black stamp depicting 1 kuan, features a message from then-ANA curator
Robert W. Hoge:

Wood blocks were used for printing the original Hung-Wu
notes. The coarse dark paper itself was obtained from the inner bark of
mulberry trees (extensively cultivated in the Orient as the habitat for
silkworms), and evidently colored with carbon. Vermillion seal stamps of the Imperial
Ming Treasury Administration guaranteed the paper for monetary use.

The top panel of the notes printed face bore a six-character
title translating as “The Great Ming General Currency Precious Note.” Below
this was a rectangular framework of dragons and arabesques surrounding two smaller
panels. The upper of these was divided into four parts: at the top, the
characters for “one Kuan;” to the right and left, seal script characters reading
“Great Ming Precious Note” and “generally current under heaven;” between these,
a political representation of the value of “one kuan” (1,000 copper “cash”
bundled as ten strings of 100 coins each).

In the lower panel of the HungWu notes appeared a
proclamation which may be translated as follows: “The Board of Revenue, by
petitioned imperial sanction, has printed the Great Ming Precious Notes to circulate
and function as copper coinage. Counterfeiters will be beheaded. Whoever is an
informer will receive two hundred and fifty silver liang as a reward, and also
the entire property of the counterfeiter. HungWu: __ year, __ month, __ day.”
All the known specimens of the HungWu one kuan notes (thought to number something
over one hundred) seem to be unissued “remainders,” which never received their
validating dates and administrator’s signatures or seals. These rare Ming
Dynasty treasures, and this souvenir facsimile, definitely serve as trenchant mementoes
of civilization’s ongoing struggle with the evils of economic inflation.

An over-issuance of paper money created a problem that has
been repeated many times since: hyperinflation. The Ming Dynasty discontinued the
use of paper money in 1455, with initially disastrous results for trade. All
paper notes were ordered to be destroyed, and authentic examples are scarce; a
large bundle was discovered by foreign forces in Peking during the Boxer
Rebellion in 1900. Only in the 19th century was paper money reintroduced as
part of the Chinese currency system.

Pictured above: A 14th century Ming Dynasty 1-kuan note from the ANA collection. ANA# 1994.19.1
Photo credit: ANA Edward C. Rochette Money Museum

Pictured below: A replica 1-kuan note created for the ANA by Thomas Leech in 1986. Actual Size: 22.5 x 34cm.
Photo credit: ANA Edward C. Rochette Money Museum