Tee, thé, cha, tsài, tè, teo, chai, teh, chay—these are all words for the beverage made from leaves of the evergreen shrub Camelia sinensis. Wars have been fought to control its trade and gifts of it have been made to ensure peace. It has even been used as currency. In central and northern Asia, bricks of tea were a unit of value and medium of exchange well into the 20th century.
China had a monopoly on the tea trade right up until the 19th century and, as the taste for tea spread, it became an increasingly valuable commodity. It was exchanged for horses in Mongolia and Tibet. Russian caravans travelled for months across Siberia to trade furs for it.
Tea in the form of bricks was durable, easy to pack and, under the right conditions, could be preserved indefinitely. At factories in China’s Sichuan Province, freshly picked leaves were steamed, pounded into powder and then packed into moulds. The bricks were then dried or baked in the sun to harden.
The characters tell us that the brick was made by the China Tea Industrial Corporation at the Zhao-Li-Qiao Tea Brick Factory in Hubei Province. Tea brick, China, mid 20th century
The value of a brick depended on both the quality of the tea and the distance it had travelled from China. A French missionary travelling in Tibet in the 19th century wrote, “men bargain by stipulating so many bricks or packets (4 bricks) of tea.” Workmen and servants were paid in bricks of tea and a horse cost 20 packets. At the beginning of the 20th century, Western adventurers in remote parts of Mongolia and Tibet found that they couldn’t use gold or silver to buy supplies, but could only use tea.
A very practical money, each tea brick was scored so that sections could be broken off for change, small purchases, or a quick pot of tea. Tea brick, China, mid 20th century
The tea brick shown here was produced in the People’s Republic of China sometime in the mid-20th century. It is in the Bank of Canada Museum’s National Currency Collection and can be seen in Zone 4 of our main gallery along with many curious and fascinating objects that have been used as money.
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The Museum Blog
November 8, 2018
Money of the First World War
By: Paul S. Berry
In Europe, gold and silver coins largely disappeared from circulation as they were hoarded or as governments used the metal for the war effort.
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Subject(s):
Economics,
History,
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November 2, 2018
Money’s Magnificent Moustaches
By: Graham Iddon
We would like to present some of history’s great moustaches—as seen on bank notes.
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October 31, 2018
The Devil is in the Hairdo
By: Graham Iddon
Have you ever seen eyes in the bark of trees? Wolves in the clouds? How about spooky things in bank notes?
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October 2, 2018
Canada Financially Comes of Age
By: Paul S. Berry
The First War Loan included bonds in denominations of up to $100,000. They matured in ten years and paid interest at 5 percent.
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October 1, 2018
#AskACurator Day 2018
By: Graham Iddon
What would you ask a curator? Your chance was September 12, when the annual Twitter event #AskACurator Day took place on computers, tablets and mobile phones all around the globe.
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August 30, 2018
Happy Birthday, Dear Bank of Canada Museum!
By: Graham Iddon
A little grade 8 math revealed that, since our last full year of operation, we have increased Museum attendance by 91 per cent (pause while the audience claps).
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June 13, 2018
Sculptor Dora de Pédery-Hunt
Dora’s work is as familiar as the change that jingles in your pocket. In all likelihood, you have come in contact with her work while using coinage to pay for your morning cup of coffee.
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May 8, 2018
Operation Fish
By: Robert Low
Operation Fish was the largest movement of physical wealth in history.
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Subject(s):
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History,
Social studies
Grade level(s):
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Grade 10 / Secondary 4,
Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5
April 18, 2018
New Acquisitions
By: Paul S. Berry
To distinguish the new production from that of 1936, a small impression was added to the reverse dies, creating a raised dot on coins struck from those tools.
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