1 Yuan

The Central Reserve Bank of China was a Japanese-sponsored institution established in Nanjing in 1941 under the Wang Jingwei collaborationist regime — which creates an immediate problem with the 1940 date on this note. Issues bearing 1940 dates were almost certainly printed in anticipation of the bank's formal opening, with the year reflecting either production timing or a deliberate backdating to assert continuity and institutional legitimacy.

Circulation was largely confined to Japanese-occupied territories in central China. The notes competed poorly with Nationalist fabi and were regarded with deep suspicion by the local population.