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Chinese paper money
Paper money is a Chinese invention and notes were already circulating in China during the Tang dynasty (618-906). This note was printed at the time of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
Because counterfeiting money undermines confidence and can cause huge damage to the economy, severe penalties were meted out to counterfeiters, not unlike today. On top of that, in China informers were rewarded, as can be read in the box on the lower part of this note:
“Ministry of Finance:
Printed with Imperial approval. This Great Ming precious note will be used along with copper cash [coins]. The forger will be beheaded. The informer will be rewarded with 250 tael of silver [nearly ten kilos!] and all the property of the convict."
Dutch guilder notes also carried a warning, but the penalties were somewhat less extreme. Of course, it is still a criminal offence to counterfeit banknotes, but there is no longer a warning on our euro notes to avoid language problems and to keep the design simple.
