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5 Customs Gold Units
| Issuer | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1930 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central intaglio vignette of the Central Bank of China building in Shanghai, a neoclassical multi-storey structure with a clock tower and flagpole, rendered in fine line engraving. Below the architectural vignette, a large guilloche rosette surrounds the numeral 5 with the legend FIVE CUSTOMS GOLD UNITS in a lathe-work panel. The serial number appears in red at both the top and bottom of the note, with two manuscript signature lines and the imprint of the American Bank Note Company at the foot. |
| Reverse lettering | The Central Bank of China Promises to Pay the Bearer on Demand at its Office Here Five Customs Gold Units Shanghai, 1930 American Bank Note Company |
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| Comments |
The Customs Gold Unit was not a general-circulation currency but an accounting denomination created specifically to collect maritime customs duties, insulating tariff revenue from the chronic depreciation of the silver tael. By 1930, silver exchange rates had become volatile enough that the Nationalist government needed a stable unit tied to gold parity — the CGU was that fix, set at US$0.40.
American Bank Note Company produced the series at their Manhattan facility, as they had for much of Republican China's high-value paper. The CGU notes were always more instrument than currency — handled by banks and trading houses, rarely by individuals.