DescriptionSilver, and less commonly, gold ingots were the way those metals moved in Chinese trade since ancient times. Those ingots, amongst non-Chinese collectors, are usually called “sycee.” For a couple of years sycee with stamps were available at “reasonable” prices but that was years ago. Now everything is too expensive.The oldest Chinese coins are at least as old as the earliest Greek coins. The Chinese coinage system differed from other systems in two ways. It was monometallic, only bronze coins circulated in general commerce. Gold and silver were treated as commodities. And the manufacturing method was by casting in moulds rather than by striking heated solid planchets. The main reference I use in attributing and describing these coins is the book: Chinese Cast Coins, by David Hartill.
