Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | People's Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 中國人民銀行 伍拾圓 中華民國三十七年 (Translation: People's Bank of China Fifty Yuan Year 37 of the Republic of China) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by an intricate guilloche rosette at centre bearing the numeral 50 within a star-shaped ornamental frame, flanked on each side by rectangular panels also carrying the numeral 50. Leafy vine branch ornaments fill the lateral borders, and the bank title 中國人民銀行 is inscribed at the top. The year 1948 appears at the base of the central design, with repeated 50 numerals in the corner panels. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
This note belongs to the First Series of Renminbi, issued by the newly established People's Bank of China in December 1948 — a bank founded only weeks before the note itself appeared, as the Communist Party moved to unify the several regional currencies circulating in liberated zones. The consolidation was politically urgent: the PLA's rapid territorial gains meant a patchwork of local military currencies had to be replaced fast, and the First Series was printed under wartime conditions across multiple facilities, which accounts for the significant variation in paper quality and printing fidelity across the series.
Genuine examples are considerably scarcer than their nominal issue figures suggest — large quantities were withdrawn and destroyed after the Second Series replaced First Series notes in the early 1950s.