1 Yuan – Chekiang Province

In 1897, Chekiang (Zhejiang) Province, like much of late Qing China, operated within a complex and fragmented monetary system. The primary currencies in circulation were the silver tael (a unit of weight, not a coin), foreign silver dollars (notably the Mexican "Eagle" dollar and the British trade dollar), and a vast array of copper cash coins. Provincial mints, including the one in Hangzhou, produced their own silver and copper coinage, but their weight, purity, and value were not always standardized, leading to local and regional exchange rate disparities. This multi-currency environment created significant challenges for taxation, inter-provincial trade, and daily commerce, as merchants and peasants constantly had to negotiate exchange rates and assess the authenticity of coins.

The period was marked by increasing economic pressure from foreign trade and the inflow of foreign silver, which exacerbated the existing instability. Crucially, the 1890s saw a severe depreciation of copper cash against silver, a phenomenon known as qianhuang (錢荒). As the intrinsic metal value of the debased copper coins fell, it inflicted hardship on the peasantry and wage earners who were paid in copper but often had to pay taxes and rents reckoned in silver. This monetary distress contributed to social unrest and highlighted the Qing central government's weakening control over provincial finances.

Against this backdrop, 1897 was a year of attempted reform within the province, part of broader, if disjointed, national efforts to modernize the currency system. Following the establishment of the Imperial Chinese Mint in Tianjin in 1896, there was a push for provincial mints to adopt more standardized machinery and practices. In Chekiang, authorities grappled with managing the local mint's output and responding to the copper-silver crisis, all while navigating the growing influence of foreign banks in Shanghai, which heavily influenced the regional financial market. Thus, the currency situation in Chekiang in 1897 was one of entrenched complexity, acute strain on the common population, and fledgling, yet struggling, efforts at monetary centralization and standardization.