Yunnan Official Public Assayer Saddle Sycee (4th period) - Extremely Rare

Description

Qing Dyn Yunnan Official Public Assayer Saddle Sycee  (4th period)
Inscriptions:
Makers’ stamps:
佘慶盛號
/Sher Qing Sheng Firm,
匯號紋銀
/Remittance Bank Fine Silver
Assayers’ stamps:
官公估童看
/Official Public Assayer Tong Check,
官公估周看
/Official Public Assayer Zhou Check
Weight: 172.75g
On the 30
th
year of Kuang Hsu (1904) Yunnan began to implement the Official Public Assayer system, which had since dominated the market for Saddle sycee until the 1th year of the Republic (1912). According to
A New Study On Saddle Sycee
(2011 edition)
, Saddle sycee under the category of Official Public Assayer experienced 6 stages of the development throughout this 8-year period; each stage can be distinguished by the format of the assayer stamps that the Saddle sycee carries with, the vast majority of the Official Public Assayer Saddle sycees found today are early specimens (1th to 3rd period) made between 1904 and 1907. Starting from the 33th year of Kuang Hsu (1907) the Official Public Assayer Saddle sycee entered into a declining stage followed by a government plan for the establishment of a modern mint in Yunnan for producing machine struck coins, which would then become the new standard currency to substitute the traditional sycee ingots. Saddle sycee was no longer an officially preferred form of payment for taxes and the change soon brought a dramatic decline to their numbers in circulation, Official Public Assayer specimens made within this 5-year declining period are classified into 3 types: the 4th, the 5th and the 6th period.
All 1th - 3rd period types are common (thousands exist) and together they take up over 90% of the population, 4th - 6th period types are rare. The present piece is a 4th period specimen which is also the rarest of all 6 types,
less than 10 pieces have been found.
The 4th Period examples may look similar to those of the 5th Period, both types carry two vertical assayer stamps, each stamp with one individual assayer’s last name positioned under the official assayer title “官公估” followed by the character “
看
” (Check), however the major difference lies between the writing format of the assayer chops between the two:
Official Public Assayer Stamps
4th Period
官公估
X
看
/ Official Public Assayer (last name) Check
5th Period
官公估
X
看
訖
/ Official Public Assayer (last name) Check
ed
The absence of “
訖
” is what sets the 4th period specimens apart from the 5th
Period ones (also the two types can be further distinguished from one another by the makers' names). This particular type is discussed in depth in the aforementioned reference book, some readings are recommended to fully understand the historical context. Sometimes it takes a lot of experience to realize just how rare something like this truly is. Feel free to let me know if you need any questions.
Excellent overall condition with attractive toning and clear inscriptions on all stamps. An exceedingly rare specimen for advanced collectors.
Keep in mind that MOST sycees being offered on eBay are counterfeits.
All my items are Life-Time Genuine Guaranteed.
If you have questions in regard to sycee of any kind, feel free to let me know.
Payment & shipping
Direct Bank Deposit is accepted for Australian buyers
.
Australian domestic Postage: .00 for Registered Mail. International postage: .00 for Express Courier International (tracking + signature, delivery in 4-6 business days). Extra post coverage is available upon request.
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