Yuan Datou Silver Circle is a common name for a silver circle with Yuan Shikai's head engraved on the front and a golden harvest map cast on the back. It is the national currency determined by 19 14 (in the third year of the Republic of China) in February by the Beiyang government, and it has a certain position in the history of China silver dollar. & ltbr & gt the background of Yuan Datou silver circle. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court was unable to resist the invasion of foreign powers, and foreign currency was used in China, losing its monetary autonomy. In order to enhance their financial resources and expand their military strength, local governors in various provinces have also made coins and issued them, which is very chaotic. The Republic of China was founded 19 12, and Sun Yat-sen was appointed as the interim president, advocating that the right to coin money should be centralized in the central government and set about fixing the monetary system. Soon, with the support of Chinese and foreign reactionary forces, Yuan Shikai forced Sun Yat-sen to abdicate on April 1st of the first year of the Republic of China, so the currency system was not rectified. & ltbr & gt After Yuan became president, he formulated a monetary reform plan. The national currency is mainly silver coins, weighing six cents, four cents and eight cents. The total weight after casting with silver nine and copper one (later changed to silver 89 and copper 1 1) is seven cents and two cents. After that, it was determined that Yuan's profile head portrait and issue year number were engraved on the front, and Jiahe ornamentation and currency were cast on the back. There are four kinds of national currencies: one yuan, half circle, two horns and one dime. In the same year, Yuan Datou one-dollar silver coin was first minted in Tianjin Mint, and then successively minted in Nanjing, Guangdong, Wuchang and other mints. Because Yuan Datou's one-dollar silver coin has the same currency, brand-new pattern, accurate weight and color, easy to identify and other characteristics, it was quickly accepted by the public and circulated everywhere.
After the founding of the Republic of China, the National Monetary Ordinance was promulgated in 19 14 to establish a silver-based monetary system. It is determined that the national currency "one yuan" (one yuan) contains six cents, four cents and eight cents of pure silver, which is equivalent to a silver dollar, with one tenth defined as a corner and one tenth as a cent. The one-dollar national currency is made of 90% silver 10% copper, with Yuan Shikai's head on it, commonly known as "Yuan Datou"; And introduced a token made of silver. After the appearance of Yuan Datou, it gradually replaced the old silver coins such as "Yang Long" and "Eagle Ocean" and circulated all over China. 1928 After the National Government made Nanjing its capital, it also promulgated the National Monetary Regulations and continued to use the silver standard to issue currency. The national government's one yuan only contains 23.4448 grams of pure silver. Silver ring casting is slightly smaller than "Yuan Datou" and contains less silver. Because it has Sun Wen's head on it, it is called "Sun Xiaotou".
In fact, in the early years of the Republic of China, the currency of China was two yuan and two yuan. Because the fineness and weight of each silver ring are slightly different; Therefore, large transactions, as well as capital account settlement, will still use silver as the unit. But from different silver circles to silver, there are certain discounts. It was not until 1933 that the national government abolished two yuan and changed it to yuan that all transactions and accounts were settled in RMB.