Fascinating find…

Found this article by Kate Springer on CNN.com:

Secret treasure: Historic banknote found inside ancient Chinese sculpture

At the risk of giving away too much from the article (you should read it!), this is a photograph presented in the above link showing both the sculpture and the banknote found inside it:

The banknote is 700 years old and, naturally, a rarity.  Makes one wonder how it got there (did the owner of the sculpture hide it there with the intention of using it later?  What happened then?  Did he/she simply forget it was there?  Did they pass away before telling anyone it was there?  Did they sell/give away the sculpture and forgot they had cash stored within?  The possibilities are, I suppose, endless)

Fascinating, fascinating stuff.

This was also in the article and provides yet another fascinating look at how things rolled back then:

The (discovered) bill is endorsed by the emperor himself, with three official red seals and a line that reads: “Authorized by the Department of Finance, this bank note has the same function of coins. Those who use counterfeit banknotes will be beheaded, the whistle-blower will be rewarded 250 Liang silvers plus all the properties of the criminal. The third year of Hong Wu period.”

Yikes!

They took counterfeiting very seriously back then!