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10 Mei Bank of China
| Issuer | Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Yuan (1912-1948) |
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| Obverse description | The central vignette presents an oval landscape scene of a temple and trees with their reflection on a still shoreline, set over a fine guilloche underprint with decorative floral rosettes at each corner. The bank title 中國銀行 appears at upper right with the denomination 銅元拾枚 to its left, while a red date seal reading 中華民國八年三月 (March, Year 8 of the Republic) is positioned below; serial numbers in red appear at upper left and lower centre. The branch designation 九江 (Jiujiang) is noted at lower left. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 當銅元拾枚 拾枚 |
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| Comments |
The Bank of China was reorganized under direct government control in 1912 following the fall of the Qing dynasty, and by 1919 it operated as the principal foreign-exchange bank of the Republic of China. The "Mei" denomination — one-tenth of a dollar — addressed the chronic shortage of small-change instruments in southern coastal trade, where fractional transactions in foreign goods required something more portable than copper cash.
Pick 56 is among the less frequently encountered fractional issues from this period. Redemption drives in the 1930s, combined with the note's low face value encouraging heavy use, account for the attrition in surviving examples.