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2500 Customs Gold Units
| Issuer | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Customs Gold Unit (1930-1948) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 行銀央中 關 金 貳 仟 伍 佰 圓 印年七十三國民華中 廠製印央中 (Translation: Central Bank of China Two Thousand Five Hundred Customs Gold Units Printed in the 37th year of the Republic of China Central Engraving and Printing Plant) |
| Reverse description | The central vignette renders the Central Bank of China headquarters building in Shanghai — a multi-storey Western-style structure with a prominent clock tower — in fine intaglio line work within an ornate scrollwork frame. The bank name in English arcs above the building vignette, while the large stylised numeral 2500 occupies the lower panel alongside the denomination spelled out in English on a central banner. Two facsimile manuscript signatures appear at the foot of the note, identified below as General Manager and Assistant General Manager. |
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| Comments |
The Customs Gold Unit was a short-lived accounting currency introduced by the Nationalist government in 1948 specifically to collect tariff revenue, replacing the increasingly worthless Fabi. By the time denominations this large were being printed, the CGU itself was already collapsing — hyperinflation rendered it obsolete within months of introduction, and the Gold Yuan replaced it in the August 1948 currency reform.
The Central Engraving and Printing Plant in Shanghai was working under extreme pressure during this period, producing notes faster than the economy could absorb them. High face-value CGU notes saw virtually no meaningful circulation before becoming wastepaper.