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5 Dollars
| Issuer | Imperial Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1898 |
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| Reference(s) | P#A52 |
| Obverse description | Dated 22 January 1898, with two dragons flanking a central medallion at upper centre, all within an ornate guilloche border. Large Chinese characters express the denomination 伍圓 (Five Dollars) within decorative panels, with vertical inscriptions identifying the Shanghai Branch. Yin-yang symbols appear as underprint ornaments in the central field. |
|---|---|
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| Variants | P#A52a - Issued note P#A52r - Remainder, perforated CANCELLED |
| Comments |
The Imperial Bank of China was established in 1897 as a government-sponsored institution, but it was never a true central bank — it operated essentially as a private commercial concern with special privileges, and its note-issuing activity was brief and troubled. This 1898 issue came less than two years after the bank's founding and predates the Qing government's own Treasury notes by several years.
Bradbury, Wilkinson produced the plates in London, which was standard practice for Chinese bank issues of the period — domestic printing infrastructure capable of producing secure banknotes simply didn't exist yet. The Imperial Bank collapsed as a significant issuing institution well before the dynasty itself fell in 1912.