「银锭」指铸成锭状的银块（「锭」亦通「铤」，量词，本指未经冶炼铸造的金属块）。元朝以「元」为国号，库银逐称为「元宝」（取其元朝之宝之意。元初的“中统元宝”也有发行交钞及钱币），此后「元宝」一词也泛指银锭以至一切金银货币。

此外，「银锭」重量有一、二、三、五、十、五十两之别，而「元宝」一词也可以专指重五十两的银锭。至元十三年（1276年），元军灭南宋后，返扬州，丞相伯颜以士卒掠夺无度，下令搜检部队行李，将所得撒花银子统统销铸作锭，归朝献纳。经办此事的销钱官依金代银铤成例，制成每重五十两的银锭，取名“扬州元宝”，呈献给可汗忽必烈。当时所铸元宝形呈马鞍，两端圆弧，中间束腰，在形制上与南宋和金的银铤十分相近。

A sycee (/ˈsaɪsiː/ or /sʌɪˈsiː/, from Cantonese 細絲, sai-sì, lit. "fine silk") or yuanbao (Chinese: t 元寶, s 元宝, p yuánbǎo) was a type of silver or gold ingot currency used in imperial China from its founding under the Qin dynasty until the fall of the Qing in the 20th century. Sycee were not made by a central bank or mint but by individual silversmiths for local exchange; consequently, the shape and amount of extra detail on each ingot were highly variable. Square and oval shapes were common, but boat, flower, tortoise and others are known. Their value—like the value of the various silver coins and little pieces of silver in circulation at the end of the Qing dynasty—was determined by experienced moneyhandlers (shroffs), who estimated the appropriate discount based on the purity of the silver and evaluated the weight in taels and the progressive decimal subdivisions of the tael (mace, candareen, and cash).