A CHINESE WORK ON NUMISMATICS. 469^ 



There are eij^hty-one of these designs of fcaces of notes. While 

 those of the different dynasties are not fashioned precisely alike it 

 may be asserted that they have a common model. We should expect 

 to find at the top of the note a heading announcing in a horizontal 

 inscription, \\Titten in all probability in seal characters, that the note 

 belongs to an emission of a certain dynasty. Below, enclosed within 

 an ornamental border, there would probably be two panels, the upper 

 diA-ided into two parts, and headed b}^ a horizontal inscription denot- 

 ing the denominational value of the note, beneath which a pictorial 

 representation of this value would be found, either in silver ingots 

 or in strings of copper cash. This panel also frequently has at each 

 side a vertical inscription generally written in seal characters, which 

 sets forth the purpose of the note and the intent that it shall circulate 

 throughout the kingdom. 



The lower panel of the note will be found to contain in vertical 

 columns a statement setting forth the department of the government 

 which has been authorized to make the emission, an assertion of the 

 value at which the note was to be received in trade, a reference to the 

 law against counterfeiting and a declaration of the reward which will be 

 given to informers. The last column to the left is invariably headed 

 with the characters representing the dynastic era or period of the 

 emission, below which appear a year character, a month character 

 and a day character, so arranged as to leave space for inserting the 

 specific date of the note, the intention obviously being to fill in the 

 blanks with a brush so that each note should bear the date of the day 

 of its issue. If, however, such was the case, the existing specimens 

 no longer bear these brush inscriptions the marks having disappeared 

 under the wear of use. 



Besides the eighty-one pictorial representations of faces of notes, 

 there are also represented the official seals which were stamped on the 

 face of the notes of the different dynasties, one on the upper panel 

 and one on the lower panel of each note. Some of the notes also bore 

 a seal stamped on the reverse and in a few instances representations 

 of animals were impressed on the backs of the notes. Of these seals 

 and animals we have reproductions. In a single instance a note, 

 the one kwan Ming, had a special design for the back. This also is 

 given. 



The seals were stamped upon the face or back of the note as the 

 case might be and the color used was almost invariably red, the only 

 exception to this so far as appears, being those on the Posterior Chou 

 notes which are said to have been impressed in yellow. They appear 



