Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Fen / Cent Central Bank of China
| Issuer | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 75 × 45 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The upper portion bears the bank title in English within a solid panel. To the left, the denomination ONE CENT appears in letterpress within a scalloped guilloche cartouche. To the right, a large circular vignette reproduces a traditional Chinese spade coin with Chinese characters 壹分 at centre, enclosed by a Greek-key border. Two red official seal impressions appear at lower centre, with the printer's imprint below the outer border. |
| Reverse lettering | THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA ONE CENT UNION PRINTING Co., U.S.A. |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Central Bank of China placed several low-denomination orders with American printers during the late 1930s as Japanese advances disrupted domestic printing capacity. Union Printing Co. handled this particular run — a relatively obscure contractor compared to the American Bank Note Company, which held most of the prestige work for Chinese government issues of the period.
At one fen, this note's practical purchasing power was negligible even at issue, and most examples were discarded rather than returned through banking channels. Survivors are disproportionately uncirculated, pulled from original bundles rather than worn out in trade.