Private traders first issued notes; the state later took over
Plate 033
Early 11th century
Sichuan, Song dynasty China
No photograph is shown for this exhibition. The museum displays an image only where it can show the object honestly.
About this date
The Song government took over the issue of Sichuan notes (jiaozi) around 1024. Earlier privately issued notes appear in the 10th century.
About credit
Paper notes grew from merchants’ deposit receipts. No single inventor is identified.
Chapter II
The world before
Life before Paper Money
Sichuan used heavy iron coins, so a modest purchase meant carrying a large weight of metal.
II
The human achievement
How it came about
Merchants issued deposit receipts that could be exchanged for coin. The government took over the system in about 1024, printing notes with anti-forgery marks. Later Yuan emperors, whom Marco Polo described, issued a paper currency over a vast territory.
III
Understanding the invention
How it works
Paper Money, explained in two steps.
01
Step 01 of 02
A promise on paper
The note has value as long as people trust its issuer to redeem it.
A promise on paper
Anti-forgery
IV
The transformation
What changed for humanity
Trade
Large deals could be settled without moving metal.
Government finance
States could print money to cover costs, sometimes causing inflation.
Money became portable and could be expanded by the state. It also introduced inflation and trust as public concerns.
V
Before and after
Life before and after Paper Money
Before
Strings of heavy coins.
After
A few printed notes.
On larger screens, drag the divider (or use the arrow keys) to give more room to the world before or after.
VI
Its legacy
What came after
MHI 033
Paper Money
Beyond the collection
Banknotes
Europe developed its own banknotes from the 17th century.
Beyond the collection
Digital payments
Electronic money continues the idea of a promise recorded as a symbol.
VII
Human stories
The people and the moments
Marco Polo’s astonishment
Marco Polo described Mongol-era paper currency in his account of China; modern scholars treat details of his book with care but the paper money itself is well documented.
Where accounts differ, this museum follows the documented record and says so.