Ming silver ingot currency

Timeline

1. c. 1430–1520Jiangnan–Lianghuai · JiangnanAfter the depreciation of paper notes (baochao), large private and official transactions increasingly settled in silver taels; ingots were weighed in liang, qian, and fen and tested for fineness, forming a circulating block-silver system of both official and merchant casting that laid the groundwork for later conversion of taxes and corvée to silver.
2. c. 1541–1550Fujian–Guangdong coast · Southeast coastDuring the Jiajing reign, overseas trade and ports such as Yuegang were active, with large quantities of Japanese and American silver arriving via the Philippines; silver ingots became the standard medium for land tax, salt tax, and long-distance remittance by merchant guilds, while local Single Whip Reform pilots converted taxes and corvée into silver taels.