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Porcelain money refers to coins and tokens made of porcelain intended for economic exchange. Most famous are the German Notgeld struck between 1921 and 1923, and the gambling tokens used as petty coinage in Siam with Chinese characters.
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German Notgeld 1921 - 1923
The German porcelain Notgeld are special form of Notgeld between the years 1915 and 1923, in the years before the German Hyperinflation, and a shortage of small change. Most of the porcelain Notgeld are produced for collectors in sets. These special form of coins were struck in Meissen in Saxony in the years 1921 to 1923. Most of the coins were done in red Böttgerstoneware, but also in white porcelain. Some of them are partly gilt. They were issued for the province Saxony, Meissen, and a number of other cities such as Eisenach, Thuringia; Freiberg, Saxony; Münsterberg, Silesia; Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt; and other cities. Building on the popularity of these tokens, Meissen continued to strike Medals in porcelain and stoneware.
Siamese Gambling Tokens 1760-1875
Also known as "Thai porcelain tokens" or "pee" (Chinese: 暹罗陶瓷代币 Xuanluo taoci daibi). Originally tokens for gambling, these small porcelain tokens became popular as petty coinage. They come in all variety of forms: round, square, and rectangular. Some have inscriptions in Chinese or Thai, some have a pictorial design. There are several collections of these in museums around the world, including the British Museum.