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NOVEMBER, 1027]
CURRENCY AND COINAGE AMONG THE BURMESE
200
94
than tho Shooy to be counterfeited; which the foregoing Rules may fortify you against." Lockyer had some experience of this currency for he says (p. 102): "We paid near 820 tale Sissee [at Canton)."
In view of the above quotations and the remarks made ante, vol. XLVIII, p. 107 f. on Burmese gold standards, it is worthwhile to draw attention to the following table extracted from Stevens, New and Complete Guide to the East India Trade, 1775, p. 71, where he gives a series of " Chinese characters, whereby you may form some judgement on the value of their gold." From this last statement can be extracted a table of recognised standards of Chinese gold, taking " sycee "at par of 100 touch. CHINESE GOLD STANDARDS, 1775.
Percentage of Name.
"sycee." 1. Twanghan (a bar wrapped in paper)
941 to 95 2. Seong Kutt or Soang Catt ..
. 90 to 92 3. Tungzee .. .. .. .. .. .. 4. Tungzee, Yenuzee or Tingwan ..
95 5. Toozee or Tinjee .. .. 6. Cheanzee or Swajzee . 7. Seong Pon or Soang Pon .. ...
931 8. Yeukxzee, Seongyeukx or Songyeux
.. 94 to 95 9. Ponzee cr Seong Pon .. 10. Chuze or Chiya (in bars) .. .. 11. Chanzee or Soarhzy (in shoes) .
.. . 93 12. Ongee .. .. .. ..
.. .. 90 to 93 13. Toozee 14. Ponzee or Seong Po (in bors) .. 15. Chtzee or Songcatt .. ..
30 16. Yeukxzee (shoes wrapped in paper stamped the double ring Chop"). 96
It is obvious, however, from an examination of the above table that it must be taken for what it may be worth, as the same name is made to do duty for varying standards. Obviously also both names and standards are taken from the reports of different merchants after testing with their own touch-needles and quà their appreciation of the Chinese words. It shows once more, then, the difficulty that the old traders had to encounter in their pecuniary transactions.
Writing of Siam, Bock, Temples and Elephants, 1884, p. 398 (footnote) says "The Siamese distinguish six qualities of gold: (1) Nopakun kow nam ; (2) Nua paat; (3) Nua chet : (4) Nua hok; (5) Nua ha ; (6) Nua sec. These six grades date from olden times as early as 1347--when gold was plentiful in Chieng Saan. Gold of the first two grades realizes in value from sixteen to eighteen times its weight in silver."
To return to Sycee, later on, Yule, Hobson-Jobson 1886, writing (pp. 628-9) on “Shoes of gold," said "Shoe of Gold (or of Silver). The namo for certain ingots of precious metal, somewhat in the form of a Chinese shoe, but more like a boat, which were formerly current in the trade of the Far East. Indeed of silver they are still current in China, for Giles says: *[Sycee is) the common name among foreigners for the Chinese Silver ingot, which bears some resemblance to a native shoe. May be of any weight from 1 oz. and even less, to 50 and sometimes 100 oz., and is always stamped by the assayer and banker, in evidence of purity.(Glos8. of Reference, 128)."
"The same form of ingot was probably the balish (or ydstok) of the Middle Ages, respecting which see Cathay. pp. 115, 481, etc. Both of these latter words mean also 'a cushion,' which is perhaps as good a comparison as either 'shoe' or 'boat'. The word now used in
