Alas

Alas: eventually the far-reaching efforts of the government to fill the national treasury with paper money was only partially successful. That was mainly due to the fact that bankers and traders had little faith in the honesty and stability of the government.

Moreover, the value of the banknotes kept decreasing, resulting in people receiving less money when they redeemed them. The dissatisfaction amongst the people grew and the government eventually halted the distribution of banknotes. It had become painfully obvious that the government was losing control over the system.

The government and government banks blamed each other for the financial malaise. So, the story of the silver and copper banknotes ends on a sad note. On the other hand: it created beautiful objects and forgers dared not try to copy them.

We do not have the receipts of these five banknotes. Until they are found, we shall assume that they are real. They are valuable in any case, as not much is left from this turbulent time in Chinese history.