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500 000 Yuan Tung Pei Bank of China; promissory note; front proof
| Issuer | Tung Pei Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1949 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Vertical-format proof printed in brown and yellow; an industrial vignette occupies the upper centre. Chinese text runs right to left in traditional script, with square seal-script overprints applied at intervals. The denomination is set out in large Chinese characters down the face, with the English legend and year at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Uniface; the reverse is blank white paper bearing only a vertically oriented blue stamped control number near the upper centre. |
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| Comments |
The Tung Pei Bank of China — the Northeast China Bank — was a communist-controlled regional institution operating in Manchuria during the final phase of the civil war. By 1949, hyperinflation in the region had pushed denominations into the hundreds of thousands, making this 500,000 yuan note a practical necessity rather than an aberration. The PRC's currency unification later that year rendered it obsolete almost immediately after issue.
This is a front proof — printed but never signed, serialed, or released for circulation. Proofs from this bank are considerably scarcer than issued notes, as most were destroyed during the transition to the Renminbi.