China, c.1375

CHINESE PRINTING – Da Ming tongxing baochao [One guan note]. China, c.1375.

14^th-century Chinese currency printed on mulberry paper. Nearly a century before Gutenberg, the largest paper currency ever issued in China was printed by the order of the Hongwu Emperor, equivalent to (but not exchangeable for) the thousand brass coins depicted on the front of the note. The printed text includes a warning to forgers. By the 1430s their use had largely been abandoned, however, due to inflation. See Caroline R. Cartwright, Christina M. Duffy, and Helen Wang, “Paper Money of the Ming Dynasty: Examining the Material Evidence,” in Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400-1450 (British Museum, 2016).

One printed sheet, 340 x 220mm. Block printed in ink on slate blue mulberry paper, two red handstamps overprinted (a little chipped around the edges, red seals a bit faded)