There were many monetary units in ancient China, and each dynasty was different, especially before Qin and Han Dynasties. Only three basic units are discussed here: a coin (that is, a standard square hole copper coin); A silver or two; One or two gold. The exchange ratio between copper coins, silver and gold, just like the current foreign exchange price, is constantly changing, unlike 1 yuan is equal to 100. In the early years of Daoguang, one or two pieces of silver were exchanged for money, that is, one thousand articles; By the time of the Opium War in the 20th year of Daoguang, one or two pieces of silver could be exchanged for sixteen thousand seven hundred pieces of silver. Since Xianfeng, the price of silver has soared, and one or two pieces of silver can be exchanged for as much as 22,300 pieces of silver. In general, 1 silver can be exchanged for about 1000~ 1500 copper. Ancient 1 penetration money or 1 hanging money was 1000 copper coins.

Metal price Because money made of gold, silver and copper is valuable in itself, theoretically the value of money should be equal to the price of metal, so we can answer "How much is a piece of silver?" In the Tang Dynasty, each Kaiyuan Bao Tong copper coin was 8 cents in diameter, 10 pieces weighed 1 2 pieces, and 1,000 pieces weighed 6 Jin 4 liang. During the reign of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty, each copper coin weighed one yuan and twenty-five cents, and then increased to one yuan and four cents, so it weighed eight catties and twelve ounces per thousand articles. In ancient times, although the weight units of "two" were different, they were all about 40 grams, while "Jin" was about 700 grams. The average weight of each copper coin is 5 grams. At present, the price of gold, silver and copper (RMB) is as follows: gold: 100 yuan/gram of silver: 2 yuan/gram of brass: 0.02 yuan/gram. The calculated result is: 1 two gold: about 4000 yuan 1 two silver: about 1 copper coin 80 yuan (/.