Quiz · Trade and Money
Paid in Paper: How Mongol Money Really Worked on the Silk Road
Two questions on this film. Watch it first, or answer now and watch afterward.
Watch or rewatch the film: Paid in Paper: How Mongol Money Really Worked on the Silk RoadQuestion 1 of 2Paper money worked for years in China but froze Tabriz’s bazaar within days in 1294. Why?
In China people were used to notes, and at first the state kept silver to redeem them. In Tabriz there was no such habit, only the Ilkhan’s word.
Source: EP05 claims C-P29, C-P32, C-P33 (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Čāv”; Guan 2024); narrated at 08:00 of 09:30 (84%)
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The answer: Tabriz’s notes had only the ruler’s word
In China people were used to notes, and at first the state kept silver to redeem them. In Tabriz there was no such habit, only the Ilkhan’s word.
Source: EP05 claims C-P29, C-P32, C-P33 (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Čāv”; Guan 2024); narrated at 08:00 of 09:30 (84%)
Question 2 of 2A ship sank off Korea in 1323 with 28 tons of copper coins aboard. Where was it headed?
Japan bought copper coins from China, since people there had begun to prefer coins to barter. The ship left Ningbo for Hakata.
Source: EP05 claims C-P25, C-P26 (National Museum of Korea, Sinan shipwreck); narrated at 06:36 of 09:30 (69%)
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The answer: To Japan, where people wanted Chinese coins
Japan bought copper coins from China, since people there had begun to prefer coins to barter. The ship left Ningbo for Hakata.
Source: EP05 claims C-P25, C-P26 (National Museum of Korea, Sinan shipwreck); narrated at 06:36 of 09:30 (69%)
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These questions were drafted with AI assistance from the film’s researched script and its sources, and reviewed before publishing.