Two Major Types of Honan Waisted Sycee

Stephen Tai
Dec.06, 1998

Inscriptions: Hou Zi Xin - Name of Silversmith
Diameter: 30(L) x 48(W) x 25(H) mm
Weight: 192g (5 taels)
Inscriptions: Qi County
Diameter: 33(L) x 48(W) x 26(H) mm
Weight: 185g (5 taels)

During Ching Dynasty and early Republican Period, there were 2 kinds of sycee employed in Honan Province, i.e. Shoe Sycee in 10 or 50 taels, and Waisted Sycee Kidney, with which, Chinese people used to call it Yiao Ding. Such name may be interpreted in two ways, one is like Joe Cribb did in his book* as Waisted Sycee, and another is Kidney Sycee. In Chinese, the word Yiao contains the meaning of Waist and Kidney both.
Honan Waisted Sycee can be found in market with quite many amount at present days. All Waisted Sycee were inscribed with one stamp, but they can be further classified into two major types; one type with the inscription of name of silversmith (as No.1 exemplified), and another type inscribed with name of place (as No. 2 exemplified). The former type was privately issued by then local banks or silversmiths, most of the Waisted Sycee we have found are this type. The latter type was cast by local governments with their authorized silversmiths mainly for the purpose of tax collection, its specimens are respectively scarce. Note: * A Catalogue of Sycee in the British Museum — Chinese Silver Currency Ingots C. 1750-1933. British Museum Press. 1992.