Tea bricks

Started by Prosit, February 20, 2010, 03:00:43 AM

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Prosit

No paperwork with it now...I suppose it went out in the trash....didn't notice any.  My daughter got it for me and I went to the website she used but there are no specifics listed...just a generic image and a notice that the designs sent may be different from what is shown which in this case it is.

Dale

Coinsforever

I would like to share my experience of  over 4 year working & staying period in China , actually my previous organization awarded momentos made of such dried teas similar to these bricks .

You may get wide variety of such stuff  viz any Chinese characters , laughing Buddha etc and actually use it for drinking too !

Cheers ;D
Every experience, good or bad, is a priceless collector's item.



http://knowledge-numismatics.blogspot.in/

akona20

We certainly use them in China for the same purpose.

Gusev

This is an interesting topic.
There is an article about tea bricks.
Bertsch, Wolfgang: "The Use of Tea Bricks as Currency among the Tibetans". Der Primitivgeldsammler, Jahrgang 27, Heft 1 (vol. 27, no. 1), Rüsselsheim, 2006, pp. 19-51.
 
For about ten years I have been monitoring sales at auctions of tea bricks and have little statistics.
The most commonly sold bricks are made in the last century. The selling price is about 300 dollars. The weight of these korpiches is about 1100 gr, the dimensions are approximately 240x190x22 mm.
Old bricks have a different shape and are sold for much more.
"Those at the top of the mountain didn't fall there."- Marcus Washling.

Gusev

Tea brick, modern production1.jpg

Stephen Album Rare Coins, Auction #40, 13-15 May 2021, Lot 1144, Sold 300 USD


CHINA: tea brick money, Hubei mi zhuan chá , made of powdered black tea, approximately 190mm x 240mm, EF. Due to the high value of tea in many parts of Asia, tea bricks were used as a form of currency throughout China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Central Asia. Tea bricks were in fact the preferred form of currency over metallic coins for the nomads of Mongolia and Siberia in the early 20th Century. The tea could not only be used as money and eaten as food in times of hunger but also brewed as allegedly beneficial medicine for treating coughs and colds. Until World War II, tea bricks were still used as a form of edible currency in Siberia. The average brick was valued at 1 Szechuan-Tibet rupee or 8 ga-den tangkas, and used for paying wages, buying provisions, and in ordinary trading. In the period 1975 to 1985 molds of this design were used in the Peoples Republic of China to produce more tea bricks such as this for sale as novelty items and as tea for drinking.
"Those at the top of the mountain didn't fall there."- Marcus Washling.

Gusev

Tea brick, used in Tibet as a currency

Stephen Album Rare Coins, Auction 38, 24-27 Sep 2020, Lot 1090, Sold 650 USD

Tea brick money, an old example, likely produced at the end of the Qing dynasty or early during the Min Guo (Republic) era with three Chinese characters on the face, ex Charles Opitz Collection. Due to the high value of tea in many parts of Asia, tea bricks were used as a form of currency throughout China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Central Asia. Tea bricks were, in fact, the preferred form of currency over metallic coins for the nomads of Mongolia and Siberia. The tea could not only be used as money and eaten as food in times of hunger, but also brewed as allegedly beneficial medicine for treating coughs and colds. Until World War II, tea bricks were still used as a form of edible currency in Siberia. Tea bricks for Tibet were mainly produced in the area of Ya'an (formerly Yachou-fu) in Sichuan province.
"Those at the top of the mountain didn't fall there."- Marcus Washling.

Gusev

Tea brick, used in Tibet as a currency

Stephen Album Rare Coins, Auction 39, 21 Jan 2021, Lot 1139, Sold 350 USD

CHINA: tea money, Opitz pg. 340 (plate), 121x92mm, a very old and rare piece of tea money, with uncertain partial inscription, Fine, ex Charles Opitz Collection. Due to the high value of tea in many parts of Asia, tea bricks were used as a form of currency throughout China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Central Asia.
"Those at the top of the mountain didn't fall there."- Marcus Washling.

Manzikert

I was given one of these by an old friend some years ago, and found out that the inscription says 'China Tea Company/ made at Zhaoliqiao Brick Tea Factory', which is in Hubei province. I found a link to the company website (unfortunately all in Chinese) which shows several versions which they apparently still make, including one which shows the original packaging. http://www.brick-tea.com/

Alan