Watch List notes:

CHINA. Guangdong Yuanbao. Guangzhou Qing Jie Mu. Military Expense Ingot. Silver 50 Tael Tributary Trade Ingot, ND. Ming Dynasty. Graded XF 45 by GBCA.
BMC-not listed; cf.Zhejiang Provincial Museum-pg. 104; cf.China Numismatic Museum-287. Weight: 1781.5 gms. The rippled surface exhibits 23 characters, each hand inscribed in three columns, nearly all are complete and boldly applied, the name of the silver smith who cast this ingot is Chen Xin. Several small portions of the raised wings are curled over as is commonly seen on the earlier high tipped types. Minor earthen deposits are noted in the crevasses mentioned for accuracy. Otherwise an attractive example of a highly sought after and significant type certain to see spirited bidding from advanced collectors.

During the early years of the Ming dynasty a sea ban was implemented to protect the country from invading pirates. To maintain trade with overseas countries the government encouraged foreign envoys to conduct trade in China in the form of presenting tributes, hence "Tributary Trade". In order to mitigate the inflation caused by the reckless issuance of paper money the government went so far as to pay officials wages in the form of pepper and Indian redwood. The present ingot is an example of how the city Guangzhou used the goods tax from the tributary payments to pay military expenses and is historically significant in the study of Ming Dynasty Finance and tax history as well as Chinese military history.

Estimate: $10000.00- $15000.00