Vorherrschaft

18:30 May 8, 2017 

Yes, I had edited my last post just before your reply came through, as I realized "all but" should not be used for "gänzlich."

Best

18:28 May 8, 2017 

I like the lost its status. Sounds good. "all but" to me sounds like they didn't do it all the way, while gänzlich I believe is entirely?. Thanks for all the help - about to turn it in. Nice to have forums like this!

18:22 May 8, 2017 

1) What do you think of "lost its status as the (pre)dominant currency" to incorporate "aufgeben"?

Granted, sounds a bit "passive" - maybe you can use "suspended" from the BBC article below. Or turn the sentence around and write "the Chinese (or the ...Dynasty/region) largely/mostly gave up on using paper money as currency."

Edit: Scrap the second idea.

18:09 May 8, 2017 

Thanks for all your help everyone. What do you think of "Paper money was no longer used as the predominant currency and the minting of copper coins was entirely discontinued in 1435 for approximately seventy years". It doesn't use "aufgegeben" exactly, but might work?

18:04 May 8, 2017 

"alleinige Vorherrschaft" means that one thing/person dominates above all others. For example, there may be more than one business dominating a certain market (think two corporations which have a combined market share of 90%); the word "alleinige" makes clear that anything or anyone else is considered to be much less powerful/influential/prevalent.

If you can work it in somehow, I'd suggest using the adjective as in the examples below.

"This appreciation in the value of silver reflected its new importance in state finance and as a store of value at a time when paper money became the predominant currency."
http://www.econ.ucla.edu/workshops/papers/History/Von Glahn....

"Paper currency had been issued and used during the Song Dynasty era, but the Yuan Empire was the first dynasty in the world to use paper currency as the predominant circulating medium."
http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/china-history/the...

Side note: You may drop "pre-" from the word.
http://grammarist.com/usage/dominant-vs-predominant/

17:47 May 8, 2017 

Something isn't quite right here, I agree. From the BBC:
"Paper currency was first used in China as early as AD 1000. However, the Ming were the first Chinese dynasty to try to totally replace coins with paper money. The state issued too much paper money, however, causing hyper-inflation. By 1425 paper money was worth only a seventieth of its original value and the use of paper currency in China was suspended."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/F3oFoFDuTx-r...

"Eventually, around 1425, the Chinese government gave up the struggle and suspended the use of paper money. The fairies had fled, or, in grander language, the faith structure needed for paper money to work had collapsed. Silver bullion would now be the basis of the Ming monetary world."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/transcripts/ep...

According to one book, the "transition to a silver ecoomy" (i.e. silver coins) lasted between 1000 and 1435; it's the only time I've seen that number used.

17:17 May 8, 2017 

Can someone explain what the whole sentence means? Surely 'alleinige Vorherrschaft' means they only used paper, so they can't stop making copper coins. And shouldn't it be 'die Prägung'?

15:34 May 8, 2017 

@Phil, it's China, fifteenth century. Thanks!

15:32 May 8, 2017 

@ Phil: maybe just copper coins?

15:24 May 8, 2017 

...it's a contradiction in terms. Paper money lost its monopoly and they stopped minting coins?
If you tell us what country or region this refers to, we can easily check.