10 Dollars

The Ta Ch'ing Government Bank was established by imperial decree in 1905 as a central bank for the Qing dynasty — one of several desperate modernization measures in the final decade of the regime. This note dates to the bank's first full year of operation, when its notes were being issued across multiple denominations simultaneously and the institution was still establishing public confidence against deep-rooted popular preference for silver taels and copper cash.

CMPA, a Paris-based firm, was an unusual choice for a state bank printer — better known for metals and metallurgical work than security printing. Whether this reflects a temporary capacity constraint among the major security printers or a deliberate diplomatic procurement decision is not documented in surviving records.