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500 Yuan Bank of Shansi, Chahar, & Hopei
| Issuer | Bank of Shansi, Chahar & Hopei |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Yuan (1946-1949) |
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| Obverse description | Brown on light green and ochre underprint, with a central ornate vignette of two dragons flanking the large Chinese denomination characters 伍佰圓 within a decorative guilloche frame. The bank name in Chinese (晉察冀邊區銀行) appears in the upper right panel, with the serial number and prefix letter printed in red at upper right. Two red seal impressions appear at lower centre, and the Republic of China year 35 (中華民國三十五年) is inscribed along the lower border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Pale brown-orange (salmon-pink) with a symmetrical layout centred on a large guilloche rosette bearing the numeral 500. Three denomination numerals appear at left, centre, and right, framed by decorative scroll borders. The bank name BANK OF SHANSI CHAHAR & HOPEI is inscribed across the top, with FIVE HUNDRED YUAN and the year 1946 along the lower margin. Two manuscript signatures appear across the centre. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Shansi, Chahar & Hopei was a communist-administered regional bank established by the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region government — one of several anti-Japanese guerrilla base areas that developed their own currency systems entirely outside Nationalist control. By 1946, with the war against Japan over, the real contest was the civil war, and border region banks were aggressively issuing high-denomination notes to finance military operations and manage the inflationary pressure that came with it.
The 500 Yuan denomination reflects how badly inflation had eroded purchasing power in the region by this point. Notes from this bank are frequently encountered with heavy circulation wear — they were working currency in an active war zone, not reserve holdings.