The currency in the Song Dynasty was almost the same as the former dynasty in form, but greatly exceeded that of the former dynasty in amount. Each emperor had the practice of casting new currency to replace the old one, and some even had several different versions of currency issued during their own reign.

During the early Song Dynasty, the currency in circulation was mainly bronze or iron coins. Along with the development of commodity economy, the first paper currency, jiaozi, appeared in the Chuanshu region, and huizi that circulated nationwide was issued in Lin'an (present Hangzhou).

Paper currency was the main currency throughout the Yuan Dynasty, with two kinds being the most basic - "zhong tong yuan bao jiao chao" (Zhongtong was the reign title of Emperor Kublai Khan, "yuanbao" referred to a kind of gold and silver coin upon which the paper currency was based, and "jiaochao" meant money) and "zhi yuan tong xing bao chao" (Zhiyuan referred to the reign title of the then emperor, tongxing meant circulation, and baochao referred to money). At the early Yuan Dynasty bronze coin was not allowed to use, and until 1310 during Emperor Wuzong's reign, coin currency was allowed to be cast again. The casting of metal currency in the Yuan Dynasty happened twice: the first time "dayuan tongbao" and "zhida tongbao" were cast in the third year of Zhida Period (1310), and the second time "zhizheng tongbao" was cast in the tenth year of Zhizheng Period (1350).