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400 Yuan Central Bank of China
| Issuer | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 156 × 54 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 中央銀行 肆佰圓 中華民國三十四年印 (Translation: Central Bank of China / Four Hundred Yuan / Printed in the 34th year of the Republic of China) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in red and centres on a large oval guilloche vignette bearing the denomination characters 肆佰圓, flanked by ornate scrollwork and dragon-like decorative motifs. The numeral 400 appears in each corner and along the top margin, while two vertical columns of Chinese characters with seal impressions are present at left and right of the central vignette. The overall design is composed of dense guilloche lacework forming the border frame. |
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| Comments |
The 400 Yuan denomination is an artifact of wartime hyperinflation arithmetic. By 1945, the Nationalist government's finances had been gutted by eight years of conflict with Japan, and the Central Bank was issuing notes in denominations that would have seemed absurd before the war — 400 Yuan being one of the more awkward multiples, designed to replace bundles of smaller notes rather than serve any natural transactional logic.
The Central Engraving and Printing Works in Shanghai had been churning out increasingly large denominations under increasingly difficult conditions. Within three years of this note's issue date, inflation would render it essentially worthless long before any formal demonetization.