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100 Yuan
| Issuer | People's Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1949 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed on an orange-red ground and centres on an intaglio vignette of a large cargo vessel underway at right, with smaller craft and a port cityscape receding into the background. The bank title 中國人民銀行 runs along the upper border, while the denomination 壹佰圓 appears within a circular guilloche panel at lower left, flanked by corner rosettes bearing the characters 佰 and 圓. The Republican-era date inscription 中華民國三十八年 is placed along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is executed in orange-red and tan, with a large central guilloche medallion enclosing the bold intaglio numeral 100 within dense scrollwork and lathe-work floral ornaments. The numeral 100 is repeated in each corner, and the bank title 中國人民銀行 appears on a ribbon cartouche at the top centre. The year 1949 is set within a small panel at the base of the central medallion. |
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| Comments |
This note belongs to the First Series Renminbi (第一套人民币), issued by the newly established People's Bank of China during the final phase of the civil war. The First Series was not a planned currency rollout — it was a wartime improvisation, printed across multiple facilities using whatever equipment and paper were available. The result was a series of notoriously inconsistent printing quality, with several denominations produced by different regional printers simultaneously, leading to recognized varieties that differ substantially in ink color, paper stock, and plate sharpness.
The entire First Series was demonetized in 1955 when the Second Series was introduced at a conversion rate of 10,000 old yuan to 1 new yuan — reflecting the extraordinary inflation the currency had absorbed in its brief lifespan.