It is time to turn another page of my Silver stacking from the fringe; precious metals coming from off the beaten track.
“Black birds tend to like shiny things.” ~ The Bloody Raven
This post is my response to this week's 2nd question by 
Collecting objects is a hobby that many enjoy, often without even realizing it. Do you have a collection — big or small — that reflects your interests or memories? What is the most unusual or surprising item you’ve ever collected, and what inspired you to keep it?
Ten years ago, when I made the conscious decision to put a significant part of my excess savings into precious metals, I never thought I’d go down this route researching the roots of my Asian side of my family. This began with some of the silver coinage handed down from my late father that came in the form of old silver and bronze coins mostly from the Kwang-Tung region, Hong Kong, along with some old banknotes and documents revealing a fascinating journey made by these ancestors.
This unusual piece appears as a Chinese Yunnan 5 Taels Silver Pai-Fang-Ding Sycee or what western numismatists refer to as Saddle money.
My starting point centered around my Patriarch g-great-grandfather Jin Wong who came over in 1911 as a young man. He was attracted by the allure of opportunity by the those retuning ‘young geese’ that made their fortunes after surviving their journey back from the new world. After working for the National railroad he settled in a Prairie town operating a thriving store and diner until 1962. He left behind a lovely variety of foreign silver coins as his heirloom pieces.
Plan/side view
Then my Father ended up with the collection adding mostly Canadian and some American silver coins accompanied with old banknotes from a time when silver coins were still circulating in public before 1967. He’d let me play with the bigger silver dollars as my imaginary treasure, spending our time talking about these coins and planted in my memory the feel and value of real money.
Bottom view.
Many years later I examined my late Father’s collection more closely, there was a group of old Chinese coins and documents I’ve never noticed. I can only vaguely remember that they came from various ancestors emigrating from China long ago. And thus began my research into the Asian side of my family tree. My brother was just as curious and we slowly began to uncover some of the stories. I hope to document these stories here on our blockchain as a repository for my future descendants to read, refer to and appreciate their ancestor’s family history.
End view.
I can’t emphasize strong enough the difficult barriers the Chinese faced coming to North America. Author Paul Yee’s book “Saltwater City” corroborates the memories of the few remaining members of my parent’s generation. The book has been an invaluable testimony of their road from hardship to full citizens in a land that promised opportunity.
“British Columbia would not be a part of Canadian confederation if it were not for the Chinese who risked their lives building the railroad through these great mountains.” ~ Numismatic Historian & NSNS President Ray Mah.
Pictured here represents a third of my Chinese money collection, each piece tells a story.
I have no hard proof but from the preponderance of anecdotal evidence. My great grandfather of my Chinese side was a goldsmith with a shop. And usually a jeweler's shop has a large safe which often doubled as a bank as a part of the business model. There would be a very high chance that these silver saddle bars of this type passed through his hands on a typical day’s business. Such denominations of silver are often traded between business entities around agricultural goods, taxes and in some cases of the Opium trade. Yes, that dirty business. Dirty enough that my great grandfather was swindled or strong armed out of his business by his greedy partner, an event that may have led to his premature demise and his younger son fatally shot by the Hong Kong police. 😔 My father never talked about them. I get the feeling that was the real reason why my gran aunt and uncle came here is to be safe from that dirty business.
Behind the scenes.
Here’s a list of my posts on these Treasured old family heirlooms;
1929 Republic of China silver 2 Jiao coins.
1919 Republic of China silver 20 Cents coins.
1941 Republic of China Patriotic Aviation Bonds.
1874cc American silver Trade Dollar; Shipwreck of the SS Japan.
I hope to post more as information that come to light in my family research.
This Saddle Sycee bar is a replica (counterfeit), It's the wrong size, the Assayers stamps are missing, the shape is wrong, etc. Yet, the bottom line here is that it is still 98% silver and a PERFECT addition to my pirate Booty bank where I keep my pirate treasure hidden in plain view on my coffee table!
I got it from my connection in Hong Kong at almost melt value fully understanding that he can be arrested for possession of counterfeit goods. The previous owner's QR link leads only to a deleted page as indirect evidence to the legal nature of this remarkable piece.
It sounded like he was glad to get rid of it and I am all too happy to oblige.
The Bloody Raven, Silver and gold stacking Pirate gangster!
Thank you for visiting my blog ☠️ and have a Happy Easter.
The #piratesunday tag is the scurvy scheme of Captain 
Sycee Varieties by Stephan Tai.
Yunnan Sycee history abstract by Stephen Tai.
Auction Prices realized on Sycee silver bars.
Saltwater City, An illustrated History of the Chinese in Vancouver by Paul Yee. University of Washington Press, 1988. ISBN 0-88894-616-3
Photos are my own shot with an ancient 2018 Samsung SM-A530W or otherwise indicated.
P. Image under Pixabay
W. Wiki Commons
☠️🎃 Page Dividers by thekittygirl. ❄️🌞
Cameo Raven Brooch from The Black Wardrobe.
The 2024 Hive 0.999 Silver Round by Silversaver888.
Physical precious metals bullion stacking is only a part of my personal overall financial strategy. Meanwhile, collecting numismatics are a different set of objectives and strategy. Unless you are a complete nutcase as I am please, do your research before deciding to buy into any bullion or numismatic products.
