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5000 Yuan Central Bank of China
| Issuer | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1947 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5000 Yuan |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large central guilloche rosette bearing the English denomination FIVE THOUSAND YUAN in bold lettering, enclosed within an octagonal lathe-work frame, all printed in purple-violet. A large circular blank medallion occupies the left field, and a floriate guilloche rosette fills the right field. The bank title THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA appears in a cartouche at top, with the numeral 5000 repeated at upper left and right; the year 1947 is set in an oval panel at the bottom centre, flanked by acanthus scrollwork. Two facsimile signatures appear below, captioned ASST. GEN. MANAGER at left and GENERAL MANAGER at right, with the printer's imprint THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY, LIMITED, LONDON at the foot. |
| Reverse lettering | THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA FIVE THOUSAND YUAN 5000 1947 THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY, LIMITED, LONDON |
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| Comments |
By 1947, the Central Bank of China was printing in denominations that would have been unthinkable a decade earlier. Hyperinflation driven by wartime military expenditure and post-war reconstruction costs was accelerating so rapidly that this 5,000 Yuan note — a significant sum when first issued — became effectively worthless within months of release. The following year, the government's currency reform replaced the Fabi entirely with the Gold Yuan at a rate of 3,000,000 to 1.
Thomas De La Rue printed this series in London, one of several high-denomination issues the firm handled for the Republic during the Fabi's terminal decline. The irony of a collapsing currency being produced to high specification by one of the world's premier security printers was not lost on contemporary observers.