sycee

[ sahy-see ]

/ saɪˈsi /

fine uncoined silver in lumps of various sizes usually bearing a banker's or assayer's stamp or mark, formerly used in China as a medium of exchange.

Also called sycee silver.

Origin of sycee

1705–15; < Chinese dial. (Guangdong) sai-sì, akin to Chinese xìsī silk floss; so called because it can be made into wire as fine as silk thread

Repeat, word for word, as closely as you can remember, all that was told you by the sycee Rung.

The Argosy |Various
Upon the bodies of many of the slain, pieces of Sycee silver were found, as had been the case at Ningpo, a few days before.

Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843 |William Hutcheon Hall
Then we got sycee silver, which was prohibited for exportation.

Ned Myers |James Fenimore Cooper
The silver used in these exchanges is called Sycee silver, and is apparently of any shape or size.

The Harmsworth Magazine, Vol. 1, 1898-1899, No. 6 |Various

The current coin is lumps of Chinese sycee silver of two pounds' weight each.

Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India |W. S. R. Hodson

sycee

/ (saɪˈsiː) /

silver ingots formerly used as a medium of exchange in China

C18: from Chinese saì sz fine silk; so called because the silver can be made into threads as fine as silk