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Da Ming Baochao

Type Object Region China Time 1368

The official paper currency 'Da Ming Baochao', issued during the Hongwu era of the Ming, was printed on mulberry-bark paper stamped with the Ministry…

Timeline

  1. 1361–1367Yingtian Prefecture · East ChinaExcessive issuance of paper money in the mid-to-late Yuan caused the currency's value to plummet, crushing the people. Zhu Yuanzhang, in the course of unifying Jiangnan, banned Yuan notes, restored copper coin circulation, and planned to issue new dynastic notes to concentrate finances and stabilize the market.
  2. 1368–1370Baochao Bureau, Yingtian Prefecture · East ChinaIn the first year of Hongwu, the Ming court established the Baochao Bureau to print 'Da Ming Baochao', setting denominations from one guan to five hundred wen, stipulating that baochao circulate alongside copper coins and that taxes in grain could be paid in notes, while strictly forbidding private counterfeiting. By 1370 baochao was widely circulated in areas under early Ming control, becoming the officially dominant currency.

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