5 Yuan Central Bank of China

The Central Bank of China issued this note in 1945, a year in which the institution was simultaneously trying to finance the Nationalist war effort against Japan and manage an inflation rate that was already beginning to spiral beyond any realistic policy response. The Central Engraving and Printing Plant's Shanghai Factory — operating under extraordinary wartime pressure — was producing notes in enormous quantities during this period, and the 5 Yuan denomination became increasingly marginal in practical purchasing power almost from the moment of issue.

By 1948, the full Nationalist currency system collapsed into hyperinflation and was replaced by the Gold Yuan. Most circulating paper from this period was rendered worthless within three years of printing.