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500 Yuan Central Bank of China
| Issuer | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#264 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 中央銀行 伍百圓 華中國民三十三年印 (Translation: Central Bank of China / Five Hundred Yuan / Printed in the 33rd year of the Republic of China) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in red and dominated by elaborate guilloche work throughout. A large circular guilloche medallion occupies the left portion, while a multi-lobed rosette guilloche fills the right. The centre carries the English denomination FIVE HUNDRED YUAN beneath the issuer title THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA in a curved banner at top, with symmetrical phoenix and floral scrollwork framing the design. The year 1944 appears in a cartouche at the bottom centre, flanked by two facsimile signatures above the titles ASST. GEN. MANAGER and GENERAL MANAGER, with the printer's imprint THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY, LIMITED, LONDON at the very foot. |
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| Comments |
By 1944, the Central Bank of China's notes were being produced in London while the country they were intended for was deep into eight years of war with Japan. Thomas De La Rue printed this 500 Yuan under contract, part of a series of high-denomination issues that reflected runaway wartime inflation rather than any expansion of genuine purchasing power — by the time notes of this value reached circulation, their real worth had already collapsed significantly against prewar benchmarks.
Pick 264 belongs to a period when the Nationalist government's monetary system was deteriorating faster than new denominations could be introduced. The 500 Yuan ceiling would be breached almost immediately by still higher values.