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20 Customs Gold Units
| Issuer | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1930 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#328 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central intaglio vignette of the Central Bank of China headquarters building in Shanghai, a neoclassical structure with a prominent clock tower, rendered in fine line engraving. Above the building, a curved banner reads THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA, with the promise-to-pay clause set below. The denomination TWENTY CUSTOMS GOLD UNITS appears in English within a guilloche panel beneath the numeral 20, with the serial number printed twice in red, and two facsimile signatures of bank officials at the foot of the note above the place and date line. |
| Reverse lettering | The Central Bank of China Promises to Pay the Bearer on Demand at its Office here Twenty Customs Gold Units Shanghai, 1930 American Bank Note Company |
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| Comments |
The Customs Gold Unit was not a circulating currency in the conventional sense. Introduced in 1930 to stabilize tariff collection against the depreciation of the silver tael, it was a notional accounting unit pegged to the gold content of the pre-1934 US dollar — a way of extracting predictable revenue from customs duties without actually moving gold.
ABNC produced the series at their New York facility, and the engraving quality is characteristic of their better work from this period. P#328 is the 20 CGU denomination, the middle value in the series, and saw limited use outside official customs and treasury channels.