Money: paper

Three rectangular paper banknotes. Obverse of each note presents two faded seals in red pigment and inscriptions in black pigment contained within a rectangular border design featuring intertwined dragon motifs and a central illustration of ten stylised strings of coins. Inscriptions comprise (top) 大明通行寶鈔 (Great Ming currency); (middle) 壹貫(one string denominating one yuan or one thousand wen); (left) 永遠通行 (circulating in perpetuity); (right) 大明寳鈔 (Great Ming currency); (bottom) 戶部 / 奏准印造 / 大明寳鈔與銅錢通行 / 使用僞造者斬告捕 / 者賞銀貳百伍拾兩 / 仍給犯人財產 / 洪武年月日 (The Imperial Board of Revenue having memorialised the Throne has received the Imperial sanction for the issue of Government notes of the Ming Empire to circulate on the same footing as standard cash. To counterfeit is death. The informant will receive 250 Taels of silver and in addition the entire property of the criminal). The Hongwu era of the reign of Emperor Taizu (1368-1398 AD).

All Ming banknotes into the fifteenth century were printed with the mark of the Hongwu era. The 1955-accessioned note was carried to New Zealand by Max Wilkinson (d. 2016), who worked with Alley at the Shandan-Bailie School and returned to New Zealand in 1955.

337x222mm (l x w)

C1955.9; C1957.1129.1; C1957.1129.2

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MIng Dynasty (1368-1644 AD)