sign in sign up
<<
Home , Manilla (money), Mint (facility), Sycee, Tael

Ingots: Assets, Adornments and Trading

Ingots have been in use as means of payment since about 2000 BC. They do not always consist of metal, but can be made from diverse materials – tea or , for instance. In Antiquity, ingots passed as also in ; in Asia and Africa, diverse forms of ingots circulated well into the 20th century.

1 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Cantonal Bank of Zurich, Ingot, 1 Kilogram of Fine Silver 999.0, Nr. 15796

Denomination: Silver Ingot Authority: Cantonal Bank of Zurich Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 2000 Weight (g): 1,000 Diameter (mm): Material: Silver Owner: Conzett

Today, ingots serve in the first place to store value and regulate . Their quantity is under national control in most countries, because it influences the stability of national currencies. To facilitate this control, modern ingots are of standardized weight and . The fineness, is always indicated, together with the label of the producer and the serial number; the latter helps to identify every single ingot.

2 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

India, Privat Issue of the Company Manilal Chimanlal & Co., 25 Tolas undated (1900-1950), Mumbai

Denomination: 25 Tolas Mint Authority: Company Manilal Chimanlal & Co. Mint: Mumbai (Bombay) Year of Issue: 1900 Weight (g): 291.6 Diameter (mm): 596.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation

Storing precious metals has always been a popular hobby in India. This is why a multitude of smelters produce metal bars for retail sale there. These bars are not actual ingots, however, but rather a form of private piggy banks that can be exchanged into at any monetary institute and at any time.

3 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Chinese Empire, bao (Boat-Shape), Value 1/10 , 19th century

Denomination: Sycee 1/10 Tael Mint Authority: Undefined Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 1800 Weight (g): 3.7 Diameter (mm): 21.0 Material: Owner: Sunflower Foundation

Gold never circulated as in . In everyday life the Chinese used and for larger transactions silver ingots or paper money. However, gold was known in China, of course. It served as reserve asset, just like silver, jade, silk or pearls. Small gold ingots like this one were popular presents.

4 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Chinese Empire, Sycee Silk-Shoe Shape, Value 1 Tael, 19th Century

Denomination: Sycee 1 Tael Mint Authority: Undefined Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 1800 Weight (g): 39 Diameter (mm): 30.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation

Chinese silver ingots formed part of the so-called sycee silver that circulated as trading currency in large areas of China and Indochina. The bars were generally made of very pure silver – their precious-metal content reaches up to 98 percent. The precious-metal content was confirmed by a stamp, and thanks to these stamps, Chinese ingots circulated in neighbouring countries as well. The name "sycee" (pronounced "sigh-see") is a Western attempt to pronounce the Chinese word "si-tsu," meaning "fine silk." "Si-tsu" referred to the fine circular lines that appeared on the surface of the silver after casting.

5 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Thailand/Burma/Laos, Silver Bangle, 19th century

Denomination: Silver Bangle Mint Authority: Undefined Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 1800 Weight (g): 95 Diameter (mm): 70.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation

Silver bangles are jewelry and stores of value at the same time. This is what they have always been used for, even though they are not standardized and have no guaranteed silver content. At one time, collectors used to classify bangles as currency, but most are now of the opinion that these bangles, as described in old Chinese novels, were part of the savings of any good housewife – they were the "nest egg" in the family budget, and were valued not only by weight but also according to their artistic quality.

6 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Laos, Kingdom of Luang Prabang, Lat Money (Tiger- Tongue Money) worth 1 1/2 Tamlung, 18th Century

Denomination: Lat Money at 1 1/2 Tamlung Mint Authority: Undefined King of Luang Prabang Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 1707 Weight (g): 89 Diameter (mm): 105.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation

Such bars are called lat money and known among collectors as "tiger-tongue coins." They originated in Lan Xang, a kingdom in what is now Laos and eastern . The tiger tongues were issued from the late 16th to the early 18th century. In 1707, Lan Xang split into diverse kingdoms which adopted the lat currency.

In the kingdom of Lan Xang and its successor states, bronze ingots representing smaller denominations circulated alongside the silver tiger tongues. They were of the same shape as the tiger tongues but had a smooth surface and are accordingly known as boat or canoe money.

7 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Laos, Kingdom of Luang Prabang, Lat Money (Boat Money), 1707-1889

Denomination: Lat Money Mint Authority: Undefined King of Luang Prabang Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 1707 Weight (g): 79 Diameter (mm): 97.0 Material: Bronze Owner: Sunflower Foundation

This so-called boat or canoe money is of bronze, unlike tiger tongue money, the silver ingots in the same currency area. Tiger tongues were issued from the 16th to the 18th century in Lan Chang, a kingdom on the Mekong River in the border area between present-day Laos and eastern Thailand. In 1707, Lan Chang split into diverse kingdoms which adopted the traditional currency. The succession state Luang Prabang additionally introduced such bronze boat ingots in 1707.

8 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Kingdom of Lanna, Tok Chiang Mai Worth 1 Tamlung, 1615 to 1768

Denomination: Tok Chiang Mai Mint Authority: Undefined King of Lanna Mint: Chiang Mai Year of Issue: 1615 Weight (g): 75 Diameter (mm): 55.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation

The kingdom of Lanna in the North of today's Thailand was founded in the 13th century and soon developed an elaborate coinage system. It consisted of little silver ingots in various shapes. This piece is called tok Chiang Mai, since it derives from the town of Chiang Mai in the north of Lanna.

9 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Malaysia, Sultanate of Perak, Fish Money, 17th Century

Denomination: Fish Money Mint Authority: Sultanate of Perak Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 1600 Weight (g): 2.04 Diameter (mm): 2.4000000953674316 Material: Others Owner: Sunflower Foundation

This fish money from the Sultanate of Perak in modern is not a real , but rather a little ingot. It is made of tin, which is to no surprise, since Perak is renowned for its rich tin deposits. Tin money was in circulation in Perak since the 15th century, and was often cast in form of animals. The beasts are always molded in great detail; besides fishes there are crocodiles, elephants, turtles and crabs, goats, grasshoppers and roosters – animals thus that were popular trading goods in Perak.

10 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Tibet/China/Mongolia/Burma/Siberia, Tea Brick, 20th century

Denomination: Tea Brick Mint Authority: Undefined Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 1900 Weight (g): 11,620 Diameter (mm): 235.0 Material: Others Owner: Sunflower Foundation

Tea has been used since immemorial times as a currency. In China, tea was, just like salt, for centuries a monopoly of the state and hence a secure currency – not liable to major fluctuations in value. And if tea would for once not have been saleable, it could always be drunk.

Slabs of tea were used as money in China, Mongolia, Tibet, Burma, and in parts of Russia, and in some places they are still in use. This slab is modern, since the perishability of the material means that genuine old slabs rarely survive in good condition.

11 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Ethiopia, Two Amole Salt Bars, until Mid-20th Century

Denomination: 2 Amole Salt Bars Mint Authority: Undefined Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 1800 Weight (g): Diameter (mm): 23.5 Material: Others Owner: Schenkung

Salt bars, the so-called amoles, were used as means of payment in Ethiopia since ancient times. The oldest reference to their use as money goes back to the Greek traveler Cosmas, who visited the empire of Axum, today's Ethiopia, in the year 525 BC.

Salt bars were still in use in Ethiopia at the beginning of the 20th century: In 1903, the tax authorities of the Ethiopian Empire took in amoles worth 907,000 birr (taler), which amounted to 27 percent of total revenues.

12 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Congo, Katanga Cross, until early 20th Century

Denomination: Katanga Cross Mint Authority: Undefined Mint: Katanga Year of Issue: 1800 Weight (g): 600 Diameter (mm): 200.0 Material: Owner: Sunflower Foundation

Katanga crosses are among the best-known African forms of currency. They are copper bars in the shape of a cross or an H, which were produced as means of payment in the copper-rich areas of southern Congo (formerly Katanga) and in central parts of Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia). The area in which they circulated was considerably larger, however: along the trade routes, katanga crosses circulated as far as to the coasts of western and southern Africa. Their average weight lay around 800 grams (28.2 ounces), but could diverge considerably.

13 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Nigeria,

Denomination: Mondua Copper Ring Bar Mint Authority: Undefined Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: 1600 Weight (g): 1,250 Diameter (mm): 150.0 Material: Copper Owner: Sunflower Foundation

Manillas are a typical African currency too. These copper bars served as bracelets and were at the same time a . The value of manillas was linked to their weight and their copper content, which naturally led to extreme developments – namely to manillas so heavy that hardly anyone was able to wear them.

This manilla from weighs 1.25 kilograms (2.76 pounds) and was thus obviously not part of the everyday jewelry of its owner. Thus was nothing, however, compared to the really valuable pieces, which could weigh up to 14 kilograms (30.9 pounds) and were definitely not wearable any more.

14 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Kingdom of Sweden, Frederick I (1720-1751), Copper Plate worth 1 Daler Silvermint 1743, Avesta

Denomination: Daler Mint Authority: King Frederick I of Sweden Mint: Avesta Year of Issue: 1743 Weight (g): 650 Diameter (mm): 135.35000610351562 Material: Copper Owner: Sunflower Foundation

Sweden has large copper supplies that have been exploited since the Middle Ages. Hence copper coins always played an important role in Swedish internal trade. This copper coin plate weighs about 650 grams (22.9 ounces), which equaled 1 silver taler.

The issue of such huge copper coins was much cheaper than the minting of the corresponding amount of copper ore-coins. Besides, the huge bronze plates were very convenient for export and stimulated bronze distant trade. Within Sweden, the plate coins were used for larger domestic trade transactions, as silver coins were scarce and minted mainly for foreign trade.

15 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Kievan Rus, Grivna, 12th-13th century, Kiev

Denomination: Grivna Mint Authority: Undefined Mint: Kiev Year of Issue: 1150 Weight (g): 162.4 Diameter (mm): 83.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Russian duchies did not issue any coins of their own. Instead people used silver ingots as means of payment. These ingots were called grivna. They existed in different varieties – the grivna of Kiev, for instance, was a longish hexagon that weighed about 160 grams (5.64 ounces); the grivna of Novgorod, on the other hand, weighed 200 grams (7 ounces) and was cast in various forms.

16 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Sicily, Acragas, Cast Trias (1/3 Litra), 430 BC

Denomination: Trias (1/3 Litra) Mint Authority: City of Acragas Mint: Acragas (Agrigento) Year of Issue: -430 Weight (g): 15.99 Diameter (mm): 19.0 Material: Bronze Owner: Sunflower Foundation

This little bronze ingot originates from the Greek city of Acragas on Sicily. When the piece was cast around the mid-5th century BC, the Greeks in Sicily had been using mined silver coins as day-to-day money for a long time already. The reasons for the introduction of such bronze ingots are not entirely clear. Perhaps the Greek cities wanted to facilitate trade with the pre-Greek population, whose system involved bronze objects like axes, spearheads and the like.

17 von 18 www.sunflower.ch

Sarmatia, Olbia, Bronze Dolphin, c. 480 BC

Denomination: Dolphin Coin Mint Authority: City of Olbia Mint: Olbia Year of Issue: -480 Weight (g): 4.23 Diameter (mm): 45.0 Material: Bronze Owner: Sunflower Foundation

This small dolphin is an interesting transition between standardized coin and bronze ingot. It weighs 4.23 grams, which corresponded to the coin standard of the Athenian drachm. The inscription on the reverse, APIXO, gives the name of the issuing authority; it is this declaration that turns the ingot into a coin.

The dolphin originated from Olbia, an ancient city on the mouth of the River Bug and on the coast of the Black Sea. Dolphins were very frequent in these waters. They liked to accompany seagoing vessels over long distances, which is why they became symbols of maritime transportation and trade. The dolphin coins of Sarmatia expressed this in a very picturesque manner.

18 von 18 www.sunflower.ch