Copy.
C. O.
211
6072
REOP
Rec 28 MAR 32
Report upon the use to which the Hongkong
subsidiary silver coinage 16 applied in China.
The circulation of the Hongkong subsidiary
coinage as a medium of exchange in China is prac-
tically confined to the Treaty Ports and the re-
gions in their immediate vicinity. Outside of
the limits to which foreign business transactions
extend, these coins are either not accepted at all,
or are only received after satisfactory explanation
has been given of their value in copper "cash".
Nowhere in China do they appear to be melted down
into "shoes" or ingots, as, wherever they are in
use as currency, their purchasing value as coin 18
greater than that of their weight in silver.
That coining 18 reminerative because of the alloy
used is a principle well understood in China, and
the reverse process of melting down is not practised
to any appreciable extent in the country. Apart
from the quantity in current use at the Treaty Ports
and their vicinity, the great majority of the Hong-
kong coins find their way into the interior, where
they are converted into buttons, made into ornaments
or preserved as curiosities. To render them more
attractive ir appearance, they are often, when
used in this way, either gilt or coloured on the
centre of the face with blue enamel.
It is not
unusual for a Chinese family to have a collection
of
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!