^Lot 76 Small Chinese silver tael customs ingot, Wukao Dabing, ca. 19th century, 36.00 grams, about 95% fine

Small Chinese silver tael customs ingot, Wukao Dabing, ca. 19th century, 36.00 grams, about 95% fine. BMC Class LXXX; cf. Zhong Guo Li Shi Yin Ding, p. 85 no. 262. 36.00 grams. Up to 1½" in diameter and 1/8" thick. Crude single casting with uneven metal flow and a slightly concave pancake form, bearing one official stamp reading "Guan" in center, with typical casting flaws and circulation wear and a rich, even gray patina, XRF-tested at about 95% silver, with 1% iron and 2% lead and 0.5% gold. Little ingots like these were cast to a regulated fineness and used for the payment of customs duties at official checkpoints known as Guans along major waterways and land routes. Raw silver was purchased directly from furnace workshops and then recast into this form specifically for tariff payments. A scarce and evocative example of Qing period fiscal silver.