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5 Jiao / 50 Cents Bank of China
| Issuer | Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Yuan (1912-1948) |
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| Obverse description | A central oval vignette encloses an intaglio-rendered landscape view of the Great Wall of China, framed by an elaborate floral guilloche border. The bank title 中國銀行小銀元券 runs across the top, the denomination 伍角 appears in Chinese characters at left and right, and the regional overprint 東三 is positioned at the bottom centre. Serial numbers in red are printed at the upper left and upper right corners. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | BANK OF CHINA 50 CENTS DECEMBER 1st 1914. MANCHURIA ACCT. / MANAGER |
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| Comments |
The Bank of China was formally reorganized in February 1912 from the old Qing dynasty's Da-Qing Bank, and by 1914 it had been designated one of the two central government banks under the Republic — a status that made its notes the closest thing China had to an official national currency. That authority was precarious in practice. Regional militarists, competing currency systems, and inconsistent government backing meant public confidence in Bank of China notes varied enormously by province.
The 50-cent denomination sat in a fractional tier that saw heavy day-to-day use, which makes genuinely uncirculated examples harder to find than the larger denominations from the same issue.