Silver Cake of Hunan Province

Stephen Tai
Feb.26, 1998

Obverse: Cast by Hunan Official Monetary Bureau
Reverse: Provincial Scale, Pure Silver of One Tael
Diameter: 30 mm
Weight: 36 g

The shown silver cake was one of the latest issued silver currencies during the latter part of Kuang Hsu Period (1875-1908) by Hunan Official Monetary Bureau. Besides, there were also other 3 private and official sectors issuing the similar silver cakes in the same time, those issuing sectors are: Bu Nan Official Monetary Bureau, Chieng Yi Bank in Chang Sa City and Da Ching (the Imperial) Bank.
Other than the silver cake weighed of 1 tael, some were ranging from 1, 2, 3 to 9 maces.
Silver cakes of such kind had never been circulated in Hunan before, yet, until its issuing date, the provincial government tried to issue or encourage some leading local banks to issue, such silver cakes of standard weight, purity and shape, as to uniform its local coinage.
Consequent to the issuance of the silver cakes, Hunan Official Monetary Bureau had respectively introduced a kind of bank notes, as shown below, whose payment unit were mainly in 1 tael of silver in provincial scale, which was the same standard as of the shown silver cake. They were planned to repay bearers of the bank notes upon their demands.