100 - Taizu of Song 927-976 AD

This note belongs to the commemorative series honoring figures from Chinese history, issued by the People's Bank of China. Taizu of Song — Zhao Kuangyin — founded the Song dynasty in 960 AD after the coup at Chenqiao, where his troops draped him in the imperial yellow robe before he had formally claimed the throne. The story, almost certainly embellished in later tellings, became one of the most retold succession narratives in Chinese historiography.

Whether this is a circulating or collector issue matters considerably for valuation — the PBC has issued numerous gold and silver commemorative series that share catalog space with genuine circulation notes, and the distinction is not always obvious from the note alone.