100 Yuan / Dollars Bank of China

The Bank of China was reorganized under Republican government control in 1912 and by 1918 was one of two principal government banks authorized to issue national currency — the other being the Bank of Communications. This note was produced by the American Bank Note Company in New York, the dominant supplier of security printing to Chinese institutions during this period, when domestic printing infrastructure could not meet the technical demands of intaglio banknote production.

Pick 54C is a branch-specific signature variant within a larger series distinguished by the issuing office overprint. Collectors should note that counterfeit examples of the high-denomination 1918 issues circulated during the Republican period itself, making contemporary forgeries an occasional hazard in this series.