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 | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1949 |
| 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 | 148 × 59 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| 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 | 行銀央中 券圓金 圓萬拾伍 司公限有份股局書華中 (Translation: Central Bank of China Gold Yuan note Five Hundred Thousand Yuan Chung Hwa Book Co. Ltd.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND GOLD YUAN 1949 CHUNG HWA BOOK CO., LTD. GENERAL MANAGER GOVERNOR |
| 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 |
By mid-1949, the Nationalist government's gold yuan currency had already collapsed, and this 500,000 yuan note was part of the frantic final emissions as the Kuomintang lost ground on the mainland. Denominations had escalated with grotesque speed — just months earlier, such a figure would have been inconceivable on a single note. Chung Hwa Book Co. was one of several printers pressed into service as demand for high-denomination paper outpaced any reasonable production plan.
The series saw almost no meaningful circulation before the Communist victory rendered it worthless. Most examples encountered today were saved precisely because they were never spent.