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20 Yuan
| Issuer | People's Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
| 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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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#804 |
| Obverse description | Central vignette divided into two scenes: at left, a farmer with a horse-drawn cart beside trees and rural structures; at right, a steam locomotive on a railway line with signal posts and industrial buildings, all rendered in an intaglio-style engraving on a brown-toned ground. The denomination 貳拾圓 appears in large characters at the centre, flanked by corner value panels reading 貳拾. The bank title 中國人民銀行 is inscribed across the top, with the Republican year inscription 中華民國三十七年 along the lower border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in red on a plain paper ground, the reverse centres on an elaborate guilloche rosette bearing the large numeral 20, enclosed within an ornate cartouche of interlocking scrollwork and floral lathe-work patterns. The denomination numerals 20 are repeated in smaller form at left and right within the side panels. The bank title 中國人民銀行 appears in a panel at the top, and the year 1948 is inscribed in a rectangular tablet at the bottom centre. |
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| Comments |
Pick 804 belongs to the first series issued by the People's Bank of China, established just weeks before this note entered circulation in December 1948 — the bank itself was barely a month old when these began appearing. The timing was deliberate: the Communists needed a unified currency to replace the chaotic patchwork of regional military and liberated-area notes that had accumulated across their territories during the civil war.
Printing was distributed across multiple facilities, which accounts for the minor typographic and color variations collectors encounter within the same pick number. Distinguishing genuine production variants from later reproductions requires close attention to paper texture and ink saturation — counterfeiting of early PRC issues is a documented problem.