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500 Yuan Bank of Central China
| Issuer | Bank of Central China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in deep red on a light ground, the obverse centres on a guilloche medallion at left enclosing the denomination in Chinese characters (伍百圓), with a vignette to the right of a steam passenger locomotive drawing carriages along a railway line, utility poles receding into the background. The bank title 華中銀行 is inscribed in Chinese at the top centre, with denomination numerals and characters repeated in all four corners within ornamental frames and a continuous geometric border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 華中銀行 伍百圓 |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Central China was a Communist-controlled institution established in the Liberated Areas during the civil war period, issuing currency in parallel with — and in direct competition against — Nationalist Chinese notes circulating in the same regions. The 500 Yuan denomination reflects the inflationary pressure of the mid-1940s, when both sides were printing heavily to fund military operations and neither currency enjoyed stable backing.
The S-prefix in the Pick reference indicates a regional or quasi-governmental issuer rather than a central state bank. The two catalog variants under S3394 and S3394a likely differ in paper type, serial number format, or a minor printing detail — the kind of distinction that mattered enormously to occupation-era currency control officials and matters almost as much to serious collectors today.