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10 Taels Hubu Guanpiao, second issue
| Issuer | Hubu (Board of Revenue), Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853-1864 |
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| Currency | Tael (1853-1858) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 戶部宮票 準二兩平足色銀 拾兩 咸豐 |
| Reverse description | The reverse carries extensive manuscript annotations, official red seal impressions, and brush-written endorsements in Chinese script distributed across the entire surface, consistent with the circulation and administrative processing practices of Qing dynasty government paper currency. Multiple large red ink seal stampings of varying sizes appear at several positions, accompanied by columns of handwritten clerical script recording transaction or verification details. The paper surface shows the typical aged, warm-toned patina associated with used Hubu Guanpiao notes of the Xianfeng period. |
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| Comments |
The Hubu Guanpiao were the Qing dynasty's first official government banknotes, issued by the Board of Revenue beginning in 1853 as a direct response to the fiscal catastrophe triggered by the Taiping Rebellion — military expenditures had simply overwhelmed the dynasty's silver reserves. This second series followed the first within the same decade, extending an experiment in fiat currency that the Qing court had resisted for generations.
Circulation was compulsory in name but chaotic in practice. Merchants refused them, discount rates in open markets ran steep, and by the early 1860s the notes had largely collapsed in exchange value. The program was quietly abandoned rather than formally terminated.