How valuable are yellow croaker gold bars from the Republic of China era today?

The Republic of China was a period of extreme chaos. Generally speaking, we can divide the Republic of China into two parts. The first part is the Beiyang government period that existed from 1912 to 1928, and the second part is the National People's Government that existed from 1928 to 1949. government period.

       Because they are two completely different forces, the currencies they use are somewhat different.

       Nationalist government banknotes and Yuan Datou’s status in the Republic of China

       During the period of control by the Beiyang government, silver coins modeled on Yuan Shikai's portrait were commonly used throughout the country. This kind of silver coin is also commonly known as Yuan Datou.

       After the National Government replaced the Beiyang Government, Chiang was busy participating in various wars, so he did not have time to fully change the currency at first.

       It was not until 1935 that the Nationalist Government introduced banknotes in the market and completely banned the use of Beiyang Government's silver dollars.

However, the era after 1935 was not stable. Less than two years after 1935, the smoke of the All-out War of Resistance filled all parts of the country. After the All-out War of Resistance ended after eight years, there were several years of large-scale wars.

       In this era of continuous wars, the banknotes issued by the Nationalist Government had no guarantee at all. As the war raged, the devaluation of these banknotes became faster and faster.

       Although there are restrictions imposed by the National Government, ordinary people obviously prefer to use the silver dollars traded during the Beiyang Government period.

       Touching the heavy Yuan Datou made of silver can bring them a greater sense of security than those light banknotes.

       Even though the National Government later minted his own exclusive silver coins, the silver coins he minted were far inferior to Yuan Datou in terms of the amount of silver contained and reputation.

       Yellow croaker, large yellow croaker, small yellow croaker

       Realizing the unpopularity of the paper money he issued, Chiang later planned to salvage the currency by minting gold bars.

       At that time, he imported a large number of gold bricks from the United States and ordered his official mint to use casting methods to cast gold bars of various specifications.

       These gold bars were mainly divided into several different specifications when they were cast. The specifications at that time were as follows: ten taels, five taels, three taels, two taels, one tael, and five qian.

       At this time we have to pay attention to a very important issue, that is, the liang during the Republic of China is different from the liang we have today. Now one liang is 50 grams, but during the Republic of China, one liang was equal to 31.25 grams.

       These gold bars cast at that time were later collectively called yellow croaker. The largest twelve gold bars were called big yellow croaker, and the basic one or two gold bars were nicknamed small yellow croaker.

       During the war-torn Republic of China, after Yuan Datou, whom people trusted most, the gold bars cast by the National Government became another important currency in circulation at that time.

       When people carry out large-scale transactions, these shiny large yellow croakers and small yellow croakers can play their role.

       In that chaotic era, I was holding a Western-style suitcase in my hand, which was filled with heavy large and small yellow croakers. When I suddenly opened it, the shining golden light that suddenly reflected it was hard not to be tempted.

       What is the value of yellow croaker gold bars today?

       Next, let’s talk about the value of these yellow croakers today. Because these yellow croakers have been around for decades, we cannot use ordinary gold prices to measure the value of these yellow croakers.

       Next, we can use an auction case to roughly calculate the current value of these yellow croakers.

       In 2012, a set of five yellow croaker gold bars with a size of five taels was auctioned. The five gold bars were auctioned for a total value of 747,500 yuan at that time.

       Next, we divide 747,500 RMB by five gold bars, and then divide by five taels, and we can get that one tael of yellow croaker gold bars is approximately worth RMB 29,900.

       Then based on the calculation of 31.25 grams per tael in the Republic of China, it can be concluded that the value of each gram of yellow croaker gold bars is about 950 yuan.

       To this day, the price of gold has been hovering around 280 yuan per gram. Based on this, it can be calculated that the yellow croaker gold bars in the Republic of China were worth three times more than ordinary gold per gram.

       In this way, we can calculate the approximate price of other sizes of yellow croaker. Through calculation, if it is a large yellow croaker of ten taels, the value should be around 260,000, and the value of a small yellow croaker of one tael should be around 26,000.

       If people of that era had had the foresight, they might have used a few large yellow croakers to buy a courtyard house in Beijing, where land was at a premium.

       But in this era when the value of a courtyard house has exceeded tens of millions and is close to hundreds of millions, without hundreds of large yellow croaker gold bars, there is no confidence to buy a courtyard house in Beijing.

       Therefore, yellow croaker gold bars during the Republic of China should be worth about 26,000 yuan per tael. The added antique value makes them three times more valuable than ordinary gold.