Historical silver bullion bar from Qing Dynasty China Qing Dynasty 1644 to 1911 Start Price USD 600.00 Current Price USD 600.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, November 22, 2008 End Time Monday, December 22, 2008 Location Whitehorse, YT See more about 'Historical silver bullion bar from Qing Dynasty China' Description This Bar is one of a kind.  I had the Script interpreted by Tepson services of England.  The script is old style Chinese and not easy to read in current Chinese language usage.  The front of the bar say’s “Qing Dynasty Treasury”The back says “Taiwan local government 50 Laing” (Liang is an ancient Chinese monetary unit).I had this bar assayed for silver content and according to the assayer there is no silver in it.  Another example of rampant inflation and cheating by governments of all times and places! A wonderful story here - I wonder what it is worth?  I have looked around but have never found anything like it on the web.I can offer insurance and adjust mailing fees dependant on your desires for shipping methods. Contact me and we can work out shipping anywhere in the world.On 22-Nov-08 at 19:27:39 EST, seller added the following information:SOUND FAMILIAR? Economical Changes: Jiaqing, Daoguang While the first half of the 18th century was a time of prosperity, corruption and favoritism at the end of the century helped to create hopeless situations for peasants in many areas. The White Lotus Sect (Bailian Jiao 白蓮教) was revived and helped to launch peasant uprisings in territories where the mismanagement of local magnates and magistrates had neglected the maintenance of dikes and waterways and had lead to flood disasters. Other peasant uprisings followed a secret society named Triad Sect (Sanhe Hui 三合會). The suffering of peasantry in many areas was worsened by the demographic increase of population during the 18th century. The economical and technical standards of the 18th China were quite high, but they did not fit the needs and demands of an increasing population. Qing China did not make use of paper money but instead relied on copper and silver coins. When the import of silver decreased - or rather the export of silver increased - at the begin of 19th century, the small copper coin ("cash") suffered depreciation: a fatal situation for the lower classes of society. Corruption, favoritism, and nepotism within the Chinese officialdom has two sources. The first can be seen in the exaggerated centralism of Qing administration. Governmental posts in the territorial administration were occupied by officials that came not from actual province, but the magistrates had to rely on the help of local secretaries and the local gentry and therewith had personal relations to these people. The second reason for the spoliation and nepotism mentality is the fact that - after passing the difficult state examinations and obtaining a post as local governor - the newly posted official had to reward his sponsors and his family as long as he was sitting on his post. Additionally, the daily flood of paperwork in a centralized bureaucracy lead to severe cautiousness and inflexibility of the officialdom. Paralysed by administratorial instructions and controled by censorate inspectors, local officials were unable to cope with new challenges in a changing enviroment. The state itself run into financial crisis after decades of prosperity, and the requirements for financial stability within an unstable economy were to high at the begin of 19th century. While the small states of Europe could develop an industrial and capitalist economy, the agronomical background and the loss of monetary investment could not help China in her backwardness that became so obvious when the agressive European merchants tried to enter the Chinese market. Place a Bid!