2 Fen

China's aluminum fen coins were produced continuously across one of the most turbulent stretches of modern Chinese history — the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, the death of Mao, and the opening of the economy under Deng Xiaoping all fell within this series' production span. Mintage figures for individual years were not officially published for decades, and several dates within the run are now confirmed scarce, particularly issues from the late 1950s and early 1960s when aluminum supplies were under pressure from industrial mobilization campaigns.

By the 1990s, the 2 fen had become economically negligible, its purchasing power essentially theoretical. Production continued nonetheless, driven by bureaucratic inertia rather than commercial demand.