500 Yuan

By early 1949, the Nationalist government's currency had entered a death spiral. The Gold Yuan, introduced in August 1948 as a supposed stabilizer, collapsed within months under hyperinflation so severe that denominations scaled from tens to millions in a matter of weeks. This 500 Yuan note was part of that disintegrating system — printed domestically by the Central Printing Plant as the People's Liberation Army closed on major cities, meaning distribution was erratic and many notes reached circulation only briefly, if at all, before becoming worthless.

The Communists' takeover rendered all Gold Yuan notes void. Survival in any condition is largely a function of how quickly a given note moved out of China entirely.