5000 Yuan

By early 1949, the Gold Yuan — introduced just months prior in August 1948 as a hard replacement for the collapsing Fabi — was itself in freefall. The Central Bank was issuing notes in denominations that would have been unthinkable at the reform's launch, and this 5,000 Yuan piece is a direct artifact of that acceleration. Chung Hwa Book Co. was one of several Shanghai printers pressed into service as the government scrambled to keep denominations ahead of prices.

Communist forces entered Shanghai in May 1949. Any notes still in circulation became worthless almost immediately after.