The Locality of Currency: The Example of Guihua City Coins (1822-1912).

This paper examines the use of coins in the city of Guihua (***) during the Qing dynasty to explore how different monetary practices reflect the diverse groups of people using them. I have analyzed store books and records, official documents, and Japanese investigations to reconstruct the original state of currency usage. During the Qing dynasty, there was a tradition of using Duanmo coins(***). The ratios of Duanmo coins varied across different regions, depending on their industries. To address the issue of insufficient coinage, the merchants of Guihua created a floating ratio known as the "Guihua City Coin"(***). The use of money was influenced by the movement of people and the way that they traded, leading neighboring areas to adopt and develop similar monetary habits. The creation of the Guihua City Coin was partly due to the city's proximity to the Great Wall, which placed it on the border of legal coinage and resulted in a constant shortage of money. Additionally, the Jin merchants' skill in the flexible use of Duanmo coins played a role in its creation. The merchants in the city of Guihua formed a close-knit association, allowing Guihua City Coins to circulate smoothly through mutual credit. The value of these coins originated from the common recognition among the city's merchants, indicating that the currency's boundary depended on its users. The rise and fall of Guihua City Coins thus provides insight into the political and economic environment of the city of Guihua in the Qing Dynasty, as well as the growth and development of local power dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]