Private coin merchants will recycle good money, melt it, and recast it into private money.
And if the money minted by the court uses too much material and its own value exceeds the value of the currency, unscrupulous merchants will melt the copper coins to cast bronze vessels for profit.
How to find a balance is very difficult.
Therefore, all dynasties continued to issue new copper coins with different fineness and material ratios in order to find a balance in the middle. For example, the Ming Dynasty used silver as the standard, and the court had to constantly adjust the proportion of copper coins according to market prices.
Achieve a relative exchange ratio.
For example, if Chongzhen Tongbao is too worthless in terms of silver, then it needs to use more copper, or even increase its weight, etc., in order to increase the value and price of the copper coins, and finally reach the desired ratio, for example, one tael of silver to one thousand qian.
But now that the Ming Dynasty has collapsed like this, who can care about currency.
The imperial court simply didn't want to see copper coins. It used silver for taxation and other matters, and occasionally printed some treasure banknotes to deceive people. However, treasure banknotes have long since lost their credibility. Using them to pay military pay as official salary is just a shame.
It's just itchy.
Minting coins originally has a large profit margin, and if it is managed properly, it will be a fortune. And if the court is stable and has good credit, it can even issue banknotes and use a small amount of reserves to issue more banknotes.
The benefits are greater.
It's a pity that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were short-sighted. During the Hongwu period, the treasure notes were worthless, let alone other coins. Even the copper coins were ruined by them, and they lost a lot of seigniorage in vain.
Zhu Yihai looked at the foreign silver and asked for a lot of copper coins, including Jiajing coins, Wanli coins, Chongzhen coins that were frivolous and fragile, and many imitation private coins.
The currency chaos has not only affected business and people's livelihood, but also caused a huge loss of fiscal revenue. I can't help but feel distressed.
"Yu Qing, does the imperial court have the ability to mint new copper coins now?"
It is a normal operation for an emperor and his courtiers to mint a coin with a year name. Yu Dafu did not think much about it, "Of course it can, but now there is war, copper is in short supply, and a lot of workers have been lost. It is not easy to cast coins, and
The cost is high and there are many private castings, so there is almost no profit or even loss."
Zhu Yihai nodded.
After returning, he thought carefully about currency. The Ming Dynasty has long been inseparable from silver, and the silver standard cannot be changed, but the current currency system is indeed too confusing.
He wanted to reorganize the monetary system, preferably with silver and copper coins. If it was done well, it would not only help industry, commerce and people's livelihood, but also get generous seigniorage. Wouldn't it be good?
The first thing he thought of was to imitate Yin Yang and mint silver coins, stipulate the denomination value, and trade them according to the denomination, instead of requiring complicated identification, quality, elevation, precipitation, weighing, or even cutting for use.
If silver coins can be circulated, minting silver coins is just like minting copper coins. The fineness and face value can be adjusted, which is profitable.
As long as it's not overly exaggerated right from the start, it should be acceptable.
Originally, some private merchants began to use homemade silver cakes, which are well-made and have exclusive anti-counterfeiting marks. Each piece is worth five silver coins, which facilitates transactions and eliminates the need for cutting, weighing, and color testing. It is mainly for internal circulation.
If Zhu Yihai directly made it according to the way foreigners made silver coins, for example, a coin with a face value of one tael of silver and a weight of one tael, but could actually add some copper, etc., for example, like Yuan Datou, it would contain 887 silver and 113 copper, so the silver dollar would be
It is stronger and more resistant to wear and tear, and can retain some of the benefits of coinage.
It is stipulated that the value of a silver dollar is one tael of pure silver, so the actual fineness of the silver dollar is 24, which is exactly the opposite of the 24 rising water of treasure silver.
Actual creased silver forty-seven taels.
This silver dollar is 100 liang less than 4 liang. In actual use, it does not rain. It is stipulated that although it contains only 95 liang of silver, it should be used as 100 liang of silver. These 4 liang are included.
Gross profit from minting silver coins including copper materials, wages, etc.,
There are definitely a lot of benefits.
As long as Zhu Yihai announces that silver dollars can be exchanged for unlimited silver coins, his credibility will be increased. As long as everyone accepts it and the circulation increases, the profits will be obtained.
Then based on the Ming Dynasty silver dollar as the standard anchor, the materials and ingredients of the new copper coins were formulated. For example, the copper coins before the Ming Dynasty were made of brass or red copper, and then lead was added.
Make brass coins and red copper coins.
But later in history, the Tatars added tin to it, turning brass coins into bronze coins. This kind of copper-lead-tin money cannot be made into copperware if it is melted again, which prevents the copper coins from being destroyed.
Casting tools.
According to the material cost, the quality of copper, lead and tin is appropriately adjusted, and finally the labor and other costs are calculated, and a certain minting profit is left. In theory, one thousand copper coins can be exchanged for one tael of silver.
From 5,500 yuan to one tael of silver, or from Jiajing gold-backed copper coins to 2,400 yuan to 1 tael, to 1,000 yuan to one tael of silver, the new copper coins must be made of more materials and the money will be more valuable. It is possible
It has attracted a large number of private castings. Even if tin is added to prevent damage to the castings, private casting will be a problem.
Of course, as long as the profit margin is kept just right and the crackdown is strengthened, a good balance can still be achieved.
Rather than forcibly minting large sums of money, it is better to directly rob them of what they mint as hundreds, fifty, etc.
Zhu Yihai wanted to mint new currency. Not only did he want to make a fortune from it, but he also wanted to stabilize the currency system and stabilize the stability in the ruling area.
Of course, you can also make fake money yourself and make some shoddy privately coined money to circulate in the Tatar-occupied areas and disrupt their market.
There is actually no problem with the technology of casting silver coins. No matter what, silver coins are better than copper coins. Even if the value of the silver coins is increased, for example, in addition to one tael, five qian, two qian, and one qian are added, but the lowest value is 1 qian.
In silver denomination, that's equivalent to at least one hundred copper coins.
Thinking from his perspective, Zhu Yihai felt that he could actually mint some more big money, such as two copper coins, five copper coins, ten copper coins, twenty copper coins. Instead of simply casting big money to rob people, he could increase the copper content, such as making holes.
Changing square coins into copper coins, increasing the copper content, coin weight, etc., so that the value of the coins will increase and reach the corresponding currency value. Then it is no longer a robbery of money, but to enrich the currency denomination and facilitate transactions.
After all, one silver coin is worth at least one hundred copper coins, so between one silver dollar and one penny, there must be some intermediate units to make transactions more convenient.
If the people no longer cut silver for use, there must be a reasonable intermediate unit currency, but silver coins can no longer be made into five-and-two cents, so the copper coins should be made larger.
Even copper coins such as twenty or fifty coins can be mixed with silver to increase their actual value.
Zhu Yihai devoted himself wholeheartedly to research all night long. By noon of the next day, he called Yu Dafu, Chen Qianfu, Fang Fengnian, Xu Shiqi, Shen Chenquan and others with red eyes.
Then he solemnly came up with his coin minting plan.
Looking at his serious look, everyone thought it was the latest new national policy.
After seeing the currency reform, they were all a little stunned. They felt that the current top priority was that they could not care about the currency system. However, after they took a closer look, they all felt a sense of enlightenment.
Zhu Yihai has great ambitions. After this silver and copper coin system is established, he can also set up official banknotes in the future, that is, issue banknotes, but they are not treasure banknotes, but exchange coupons, which indicate the denomination like silver coins, and have them directly on them.
It is stated that it is a voucher that can be redeemed immediately upon presentation, which means it is a voucher with unlimited legal compensation.
It is not a banknote, so in theory it is not a reserve fund, but as many vouchers as there are in the bank. The issuance and circulation of vouchers is for the convenience of transactions.
But in fact, it can be operated just like banknotes, such as using 40% of silver to fill reserves and issuing more vouchers, because theoretically, the more issued, the lower the possibility of redemption at the same time, as long as it does not happen
In the event of a run, with 40% to 50% of reserves, two or three times the number of exchange coupons can be issued.
As long as the number of these over-issued exchange coupons does not exceed a certain size, they are theoretically money.
Of course, there are no conditions yet to come up with it, so it’s not written down in the plan.
It only says that silver is used as the standard, grained silver is used as the basic unit of calculation, and one yuan is equal to one tael of grained silver. The actual fineness is silver, eighty-eighty-seven, copper, one-three.
But when using it, it should be used as one or two grains of silver, and it can be exchanged for one or two grains of silver unconditionally. As for the new copper coins that can be exchanged for one thousand to one tael, a set of copper coins, two large copper coins, five coins and ten coins, and silver-containing coins will also be minted.
Twenty cents, fifty cents, and one hundred cents of silver and copper coins.
"Masters, if this set of coins can be successfully circulated, it will not only solve the current chaotic currency circulation problem, but also help industrial and commercial transactions and people's lives. In particular, the court can get a lot of interest from it.
I have calculated that the interest rate is one million taels a year, which is not a problem."
When they heard that they could earn one million taels of silver a year, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes.
Xu Shiqi couldn't help but ask, "Is this robbing private wealth?"
"No, casting Baoquan big money, if one is worth ten to a hundred, is called robbing money. This coinage method only leaves some coinage interest appropriately. This is the same as making copper coins. The more money you mint, the less you accumulate.
, the more profit there will be. For the common people, getting this new coin will not have any impact at all, and it can even make life more convenient. Although one tael of silver dollar contains only 887 silver, he can exchange it for one tael of grain silver at any time."
"This money can also be used to pay food, taxes, labor, etc. Do you think this can be called robbery?"
If it doesn't affect the people, it's not called robbing.
There is no reserve like treasure banknotes, which can be printed at will and exchanged for supplies in the hands of the people, or given to soldiers as military pay and officials as salaries. That is called robbing money.
"Why not just mint coins like treasure silver or gold flower silver?" Xu Shiqi couldn't react at the moment. After all, he was old.
Zhu Yihai laughed and cast it directly into gold and silver or precious silver. Firstly, the denomination would be too large and inconvenient for circulation. Secondly, wouldn't it be unprofitable?
If I mint one tael of silver and it still has a face value of one tael, then don’t I have to bear the cost of the fire myself?
Isn’t this a loss?
Of course, the real loser is the court. The local officials make a lot of money every year from this fire consumption. Therefore, Zhu Yihai really wants to develop silver coins and copper coins. Perhaps the most opposed ones are the local officials. After all, silver coins no longer need to be converted into fines.
If you also melt and cast precious silver, gold flowers and silver, there will be a lot of money-making links missing.
In the past, everyone kept cutting silver ingots into pieces, and then melted the pieces into silver ingots, repeatedly recovering the waste, which was a disguised form of robbing the court of seigniorage.
However, Zhu Yihai felt that the current currency system was more advanced and more profitable for the court. Even conversely, it could also greatly reduce official corruption and squeeze the common people, so it was naturally worthy of implementation.
Yu Dafu understood.
"His Highness's strategy for the new currency system has been written in detail and clearly. From a casting technology perspective, there is indeed no problem. Moreover, if coins are minted according to this method, it will indeed stabilize the market and facilitate the people, and the court will benefit from it.
Just like this, it may affect the income of countless officials, after all, fire costs a lot of money." He told the truth.
"Gu has returned all the Huohu to the public, and has also readjusted the distribution of Huohu, fully taking care of their interests, and provided some compensation. If they only want to make money through corruption, then Gu will not be tolerant and polite to them anymore.
"
"Since the new money law benefits the country and the people, there is no reason not to implement it. Yu Qing, I plan to build a new mint to be responsible for the reform of the new currency system, minting and issuance. At that time, we will also build a household bank to be responsible for issuance.
Exchange, etc., you will be responsible for taking the lead in this matter."
Xu Shiqi also understood it thoroughly and agreed with Yu Dafu's view. However, as he got older, he still supported the idea of supervising the country. Since it benefits the country and the people, why not do it?
Although he wanted to rob money from officials all over the world, if he could rob millions of taels a year, it was worth robbing him. He was even willing to take the lead in the battle.
At this time, I took the initiative to ask Xin, and I was willing to take the lead and be the host.
This is not about taking credit, but about taking responsibility. After all, a cabinet bachelor taking the lead is much higher than a general envoy presiding over it.
This currency reform does not involve gold, because the value of gold is too high and the circulation is small. People generally cannot use it and are too lazy to bother with it.
Zhu Yihai is now crazy poor, so wherever he can get money, he wants to get involved.
As for the officials' thoughts, it's not like he hasn't considered it at all. After all, it takes time for silver coins to circulate, and in the future, he will not limit what kind of silver the people can use to pay taxes, as long as it is silver, anyway, it needs to be folded silver.
Zhu Yihai would take the silver coins they handed over to the mint, cast them into silver coins, and then issue an edict that it was forbidden to damage the silver coins and not cut them for use. The face value of the silver coins was higher than the actual value, so the people could not be stupid enough to cut the coins.
use.
Slowly, all kinds of silver will be turned into silver dollars and circulated bit by bit.
And even if one day it is all silver coins, the fire cost has already been set. It is tentatively decided to increase the fire cost by 10%. This fire cost belongs to the public and will be redistributed by the court. The officials can still get part of it.
, and this time it is legitimate and legitimate, which is better than the gray income in the past.
If this still doesn't satisfy the officials, then Zhu Yihai has nothing to do with it.