1 Dollar

Ta Ch'ing Government Bank was established by imperial edict in 1905 as part of the Qing dynasty's belated attempt to modernize and centralize China's fragmented monetary system. This dollar-denominated note reflects that reform agenda directly — the choice of a dollar unit rather than a tael denomination was a deliberate concession to commercial port cities where foreign trade had already normalized silver dollar transactions.

CMPA's involvement is itself telling. Contracting a Franco-Dutch security printer rather than one of the better-known British firms was unusual for Chinese state issues of this period, and the Paris provenance distinguishes this from superficially similar contemporaries printed by Waterlow or De La Rue. The bank collapsed in practical terms with the dynasty itself in 1911-1912, leaving many of these notes unredeemed.