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20 Yuan
| Issuer | People's Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1949 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | 1955 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 行銀民人國中 圓拾貳 年八十三國民華中 (Translation: People's Bank of China Twenty Yuan Year 38 of the Chinese Republic) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in olive-green and composed entirely of intricate guilloche lacework patterns filling the entire field. The denomination numerals 20 appear in large figures at the left and right margins, while the Chinese characters 貳拾圓 are set within a central guilloche panel framed by elaborate lathe-work scrolls. The issuer name 中國人民銀行 is inscribed across the top within a plain rectangular panel. |
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| Comments |
This note belongs to the First Series Renminbi, issued almost simultaneously with the proclamation of the People's Republic in October 1949 — the currency was being pushed into circulation before the new state had fully consolidated control over its own territory. The First Series was produced under chaotic conditions, with multiple printing facilities of varying capability, which is why paper quality and registration consistency differ noticeably across specimens even within the same denomination.
P#820 is among the more straightforward entries in the First Series, but the series as a whole was withdrawn in 1955 during the transition to the Second Series Renminbi, at a conversion rate of 10,000 old yuan to 1 new yuan — a ratio that reflects just how severe the inflationary damage had been under the preceding Nationalist currency regime.