>>china printing commences, half a tril for now... do its heritage proud, inventor of paper, ink, printing press and paper money<<
Such a wonderful invention...
Ming Dynasty, 1 Kuan, 1368-1399
This note was printed on recycled mulberry paper from discarded government documents and examination papers. The six Chinese characters on the top read "Ta Ming T'ung Hsing Pao Ch'ao" (Great Ming Payable Precious Note). The note was hand stamped with two square red chops. The outer frame is decorated with ornate dragon patterns. Inside, the upper half were printed with the face value "1 Kuan" and 10 strings of ten cash each. These are framed by two panels, one on each side, with eight Chinese characters "Ta Ming Pao Ch'ao, T'ien Hsia T'ung Hsing" (Great Ming Precious Note, Payable Everywhere). Written in Chinese inside the lower half: Ministry of Interior and Finance. Printed with the approval of the Emperor. Great Ming Treasure Note payable in copper cash. User of Counterfeits will be beheaded. Informer will be rewarded with 250 taels of silver in addition to the confiscated property of the convicted. Reign of Hongwu (1368-1399).
And so nice of China to share it with the world... <g>
Gaykhatu (? - 1295) was the fifth Ilkhanate ruler in Iran.
In 1294, Gaykhatu had wanted to replenish his treasury emptied by royal extravagance and a great cattle plague. In response, his vizier Ahmed al-Khalidi proposed the introduction of a recent Chinese invention called Chao (paper money). Gaykhatu agreed and called for Kublai Khan's ambassador Bolad in Tabriz. After the ambassador showed how the system worked, Gaykhatu printed banknotes which imitated the Chinese ones so closely that they even had Chinese words printed on them. The Muslim confession of faith was printed on the banknotes as a sop to local sentiment.
The plan was to get the his subjects to use only paper money, and allow Gaykhatu to control the treasury. The experiment was a complete failure, as the people and merchants refused to accept the banknotes. Soon, bazaar riots broke out, and economic activities came to a standstill, and the Persian historian Rashid ud-din speaks even of "'the ruin of Basra' which ensued upon the emission of the new money" (Ashtor 1976, p. 257). Gaykhatu had no choice but to withdraw the use of paper money.
He was assassinated shortly after that, strangled by a bowstring so as to avoid bloodshed.[3]
en.wikipedia.org
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