Massive curved silver ingot also called ‘banana bar’. The ingot has three Chinese characters on the top which read Si De which translates to ‘Year Of Production’, Bing Yin (the year 1866) and Shan Xi (Shanxi Province). Silver bars such as this were used in the notorious opium trade in South East Asia and generally consist of 99.1% pure silver. The ingot was cast for use in Vietnam and Annam during the Vietnamese Tu Duc period (1847 - 1883). Length 11.2 cm. Width 3 cm. Height 1.5 cm. Weight 387 grams