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 Yuan Foreign Exchange Certificate
| Issuer | Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Paper |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Central vignette of the Summer Palace lake (Kunming Lake, Beijing) with stone lanterns and rowboats in the foreground and tree-lined shores backed by hills. The issuer name in Chinese characters appears at top, flanked by a guilloche rosette at upper right and a geometric lace-pattern panel at left. The date cartouche appears in the lower border band. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANK OF CHINA FOREIGN EXCHANGE CERTIFICATE 本券的元与人民币元等值。 本券只限在中国境內指定的范围使用。不得挂失。 The yuan expressed in this certificate is equivalent in value to the Renminbi yuan. This certificate can only be used within China at designated places. No request to register its loss will be accepted by the Bank. ONE YUAN 1 |
| 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 |
Foreign Exchange Certificates were introduced by the People's Republic of China in 1979 specifically to control hard currency flows — foreigners were required to exchange their money into FECs rather than renminbi, creating a two-tier currency system that kept convertible foreign exchange away from ordinary Chinese citizens. The practical effect was an immediate black market, with FECs trading at a premium on the street because they could unlock access to Friendship Stores and imported goods that renminbi simply could not buy.
The series was abolished in 1994 as China moved toward a unified exchange rate. Notes that saw genuine circulation are harder to find than one might expect — many were hoarded by overseas visitors as souvenirs before they ever reached a cash drawer.