Featured Old Chinese 'Tea Money'

Just found this at the Thrift.I've seen these around for years,this one was cheap-so I brought it home.Some say they started making em in the 30's.others early 50's.Can anyone pin down a date for me.Big thanks as always.

 

Hadn't heard of tea money. From Wikipedia:

This "money" which is manufactured in Southern China, is made of leaves and stalks of the tea plant, aromatic herbs and ox blood. It is sometimes bound together with yak dung. "Tea is compressed into bricks of various sizes and stamped with a value that varies depending upon the quality of the tea.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=chinese+"tea+money"

 

Thanks Mos-I'd seen this in the Malls frm time to time,but blood & yak dung !!! I won't be drinking any of this stuff soon.

 

How very odd ! Im currently reading The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and they talk about these but Id never actually seen or heard of them before .Yet here one is !

 

Interesting huh Johnny-it's abt 7" by 9",I might cut down an old frame and hang it on the wall.

 

I've got one with the same face, or front.
If you'll show the back side, I'll show you mine, Bosko!

 

Y'gotta move quicker'n that, if yer gonna keep up with me!

 

Now don't be goin' an smokin' that stuff Whit-that Yak yurine'll scramble yer noggin...and don't go feedin' it to the Lotto machine neither !

 

Learn summat new every day. Interesting stuff.

 

Had no idea. Very interesting. Thanks

 

I know these as tea bricks or tea tiles. My parents had one.

 

I'd seen them around occasionally and thought them handsome.They're nicely molded.I think mine's one of the 1950's thru early 70's,but haven't researched yet.

 

My son-in-law's parents brought him one back from India one time. He has a collection of teapots and it's on the display shelf.