Catalog
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| Issuer | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of Chiang Kai-shek in military uniform, framed by two ornate rosette guilloche medallions bearing the denomination 伍拾圓 in Chinese characters. The bank title 中央銀行 appears across the top in a horizontal band, with the denomination 伍拾 repeated vertically at each corner. Serial numbers are printed in brown at upper left and upper right, with a plate letter and number at lower centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 中央銀行 伍拾圓 伍拾 (Translation: Central Bank of China / Fifty Yuan) |
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| Comments |
By mid-1948, the Central Bank of China was printing currency at a pace that made denomination planning almost meaningless. The 50 Yuan note arrived just as the Gold Yuan reform was being prepared — the currency it supported was already collapsing under hyperinflation so severe that monthly price increases were reaching triple digits. A 50 Yuan note had negligible purchasing power almost from the moment of issue.
The Chung Hwa Book Company, better known as a major Shanghai publisher and printer, handled significant portions of Republican-era note production. Their involvement reflects how far the government had to spread printing contracts to keep up with volume demands in the final years of Nationalist monetary control.