China: tea brick money, made of powdered black tea

Hi
has anyone of you seen such coin ? :D


Regards,
Damian

Is it actually supposed to be in coin catalogues, or is it just a non-coin currency representative?

Also if it were made of powdered black tea, would it smash open on impact with a sledgehammer? That's what I want to know!

Alternatively, could one boil and drink these 'coins'?

It looks almost like it was designed to be broken up into "change". That's so cool. I'd love to know if anyone here actually has one.

Wow, well even if it's worth nothing (which probably isn't true) you can always have some musty, aged tea

I wonder if we should this in our catalog :D
here you have more data :
http://www.charm.ru/coins/misc/teamoney.shtml

Regards,
Damian

"It is sometimes bound together with yak dung."

I guess that answers my question about whether they're at all edible or not.

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​"It is sometimes bound together with yak dung."
​
​I guess that answers my question about whether they're at all edible or not.

​When first saw this brick money i'd like to have it. Now im not so sure :D

Citeer: "doc_man"​

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​"It is sometimes bound together with yak dung."
​​
​​I guess that answers my question about whether they're at all edible or not.

​​When first saw this brick money i'd like to have it. Now im not so sure :D

I'll not go round to his house for tea!​

Citeer: "Numismatist uk"​

Citeer: "doc_man"​
​

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​"It is sometimes bound together with yak dung."
​​​
​​​I guess that answers my question about whether they're at all edible or not.

​​​When first saw this brick money i'd like to have it. Now im not so sure :D

​I'll not go round to his house for tea!​

​C'mon ! Will be fun :D off record : i drink Yerba mate only but one member from south america offer cocaine tea :D

Some of the most expensive and sought after coffee in the world is collected from rodent droppings. This could be the teaquivalent!

Citeer: "doc_man"​

Citeer: "Numismatist uk"​
​

Citeer: "doc_man"​
​​
​

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​"It is sometimes bound together with yak dung."
​​​​
​​​​I guess that answers my question about whether they're at all edible or not.

​​​​When first saw this brick money i'd like to have it. Now im not so sure :D

​​I'll not go round to his house for tea!​

​​C'mon ! Will be fun :D off record : i drink Yerba mate only but one member from south america offer cocaine tea :D

Make a game of it,
One cup has tea one has a yummy surprise!​

You know : life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get. In this case we should change that : Tea is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get
Regards,
Damian

Citeer: "doc_man"​You know : life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get. In this case we should change that : Tea is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get
​Regards,
​Damian

Or if you didn't like anyone...​

Funny you posted that as that is from the Steve Album auction. I bid on that particular lot as I wanted one of these bricks so that I can mount it on the wall in my office. It went for far more than what I wanted to pay for it which kind of surprised me

Citeer: "Numismatist uk"​

Citeer: "doc_man"​You know : life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get. In this case we should change that : Tea is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get
​​Regards,
​​Damian

​Or if you didn't like anyone...​

​

From Damian's article:


"British traveler Thomas Atkinson reported in 1860 that a chief of the Khirgix tribe served him a bowl of brick tea that had clotted cream, salt and millet meal added to it. It was boiled for a half-hour and served hot. He commented: "I cannot say that the beverage is very bad or particularly clean; still hunger has often caused me to make a very good meal of it. I think of it as rather tea-soup than tea. The Tibetans, it is said, enjoyed their brick tea by boiling it with yak butter in a large cauldron.""

I guess it is edible after all (?)

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​From Damian's article:
​
​
​"British traveler Thomas Atkinson reported in 1860 that a chief of the Khirgix tribe served him a bowl of brick tea that had clotted cream, salt and millet meal added to it. It was boiled for a half-hour and served hot. He commented: "I cannot say that the beverage is very bad or particularly clean; still hunger has often caused me to make a very good meal of it. I think of it as rather tea-soup than tea. The Tibetans, it is said, enjoyed their brick tea by boiling it with yak butter in a large cauldron.""
​
​I guess it is edible after all (?)

Anything is edible if it can fit in your mouth I suppose,
plutonium pie anyone?​

Citeer: "Quant-Geek"​Funny you posted that as that is from the Steve Album auction. I bid on that particular lot as I wanted one of these bricks so that I can mount it on the wall in my office. It went for far more than what I wanted to pay for it which kind of surprised me
​
​

How much would something like that go for?​

Citeer: "Numismatist uk"​

Citeer: "Quant-Geek"​Funny you posted that as that is from the Steve Album auction. I bid on that particular lot as I wanted one of these bricks so that I can mount it on the wall in my office. It went for far more than what I wanted to pay for it which kind of surprised me
​​
​​

​How much would something like that go for?​

​About $200-$250 which I think is a bit too much for a late 20th century brick...

Citeer: "Quant-Geek"​

Citeer: "Numismatist uk"​
​

Citeer: "Quant-Geek"​Funny you posted that as that is from the Steve Album auction. I bid on that particular lot as I wanted one of these bricks so that I can mount it on the wall in my office. It went for far more than what I wanted to pay for it which kind of surprised me
​​​
​​​

​​How much would something like that go for?​

​​About $200-$250 which I think is a bit too much for a late 20th century brick...

Too right!
A premium cuppa!​

So....then tea brick coin in the picture is a modern "fake"...that's all I got from this. Tata!