Catalog
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| Issuer | Hunan Provincial Bank (湖南銀行) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1913 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 100 Cash |
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| Obverse description | Printed primarily in blue on a salmon-pink underprint, the obverse bears the bank title 湖南銀行 (Hunan Provincial Bank) in large Chinese characters across the upper register, flanked by symmetrical scrollwork vignettes with foliate ornamentation. Two large lobed guilloche medallions, each bearing the denomination in Chinese characters, occupy the left and right fields, while the central panel carries the face value 壹伯枚 (100 Cash) in bold black brushstroke script. Red official seal impressions appear in the lower centre, and the date inscription 中華民國二年印行 (Printed in the 2nd year of the Republic of China) is rendered vertically along the left margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in brown on a cream ground with a decorative guilloche border, the reverse carries dense vertical columns of Chinese text comprising the official regulations and legal tender proclamation of the Hunan Provincial Bank. A large circular red seal impression dominates the centre of the note, overprinted across the regulatory text. Handwritten brush inscriptions and additional red seal stamps appear in the left and upper margins, consistent with official validation practice of the period. |
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| Comments |
The Hunan Provincial Bank was established in 1912, shortly after the fall of the Qing dynasty, as part of a broader Republican-era push by provincial governments to assert financial control before a stable central banking framework existed. Copper-unit denominations like this one were specifically designed to displace the chaotic mix of copper cash coins still circulating in interior Hunan, where small transactions remained almost entirely coin-dependent.
Provincial issues from this period are frequently found with heavy fold wear — they circulated hard in market towns where banking infrastructure was thin and replacement stock irregular.