eventually redeem the coin at its par value if nobody else will take it. It follows that, before
22.
subsidiary corn Cau become a worn, it must have passed from hand to hand at a constantly decreasing value. The last holder would lose nothing by the refusal of the Government to redeem it at par; love nothing for he would be bought up speculator would have the coin at its current value,
23.
Money has no existence in China. At home a baker sells a sixpenny loaf for sixpence, and on coin, however old, shall be genuine. In China, however, there are two elements to every bargain (i) the price of the goods (ii) the price of the currency.
24.
All Bronze cash are the only coined money of China. They appear to date from the reigns of the earlier Emperors of the present dynasty, and are naturally much worn as they got much knocked about. Nominally 1000 go to the Tael, but nobody ever thinks of accepting them at anything but the market price, which varies from day to day, and according to the condition of the coin. That there should be any government department which would lend pure silver for any of these coins would strike the Chinese trader as an altogether amazing state of things. The Chinese Government would certainly not redeem these coins, nor accept them in payment of dues.
It will be seen
25.
that Chinese coins on the mainland of China do not expect the redemption of subsidiary at their par value. They take them,