Given your username of "Beijinger", you should be familiar with the traditional Chinese currency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_of_cash_coins_(currency...
> the weight of the Chinese money necessary for a journey of over three thousand miles was, as the Russian consul thought, one of the greatest of our almost insurmountable obstacles.
The extreme worthlessness of Chinese currency didn't play into any Chinese downfalls.
(Though it's not obvious to me why Sachtleben wanted to transport currency rather than bullion.)
