Yuan Dynasty: Bronze Block for Paper Money

The Yuan Dynasty was a time of great social and economic reform in China- as Emperor, Khubilai Khan sought to establish strong ties with many groups and organizations within the country that the former Chinese elite had sought to avoid. Notably, he brought prestige and reknown to fields across economic classes, endorsing the development of fields such as Astronomy, and Medicine, while establishing a new artisan class, and working with peasants to regulate education and taxation within the country. One group that benefitted greatly under Khubilai Khan was the merchant class- who saw the building of new, well maintained roads for a greatly improved postal system, and lowered taxes and restrictions to business [1]. 

However, perhaps one of the most practical innovations for the merchant class (and everyone else) was a large expansion in the quantity of paper money printed by the Empire. This paper money was printed using the large, bronze blocks to impress ink onto paper. Note the physical dimensions of this object- its height and width were approximately that of a piece of modern copy paper, implying the same dimensions for any paper note. This particular block represents a second wave of printing block, corresponding to a currency known as the Chih-yüan ch'ao. [2] This particular block depicts two "strings of cash", a currency denomination that would have been worth two gallons worth of rice [3]. 

The inscription on the bottom of the note reads: "the secretariat memorializes the throne, and it authorizes the manufacture and printing of precious bills of the Chih-yüan period and decrees that they shall be dispatched by the appropriate office; moreover, they are to start being accepted by the government without limit in date and are to have currency in every circuit."[4]