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First series of the renminbi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The first series of Renminbi banknotes was introduced during the Chinese Civil War by the newly founded People's Bank of China on December 1, 1948, ten months before the founding of the People's Republic of China itself. It was issued to unify and replace the various currencies of the communist-held territories as well as the currency of the Nationalist government.[1]

This series is also called "Old Currency", which 10,000 yuan is equal to 1 yuan of the 2nd series and later (called "New Currency").

Due to the turbulent political situation at the time, the first series is rather chaotic, with many versions issued for each denomination. The banknotes show a mixture of agricultural and industrial scenes, modes of transportation, and famous sites.

The notes were issued in 12 denominations: ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥20, ¥50, ¥100, ¥200, ¥500, ¥1,000, ¥5,000, ¥10,000 and ¥50,000, with a total of 62 designs. They were officially withdrawn on various dates between April 1, 1955, and May 10, 1955.

Some of these notes have words "Republic of China" on them to show the issuance year in the Republic of China Era. Though the PRC adopted the Common Era to replace the ROC Era in 1949 and have been avoiding using "Republic of China" in any possible circumstance, these notes were issued and used until 1955, when a revaluation of Reminbi took place.

List

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¥1

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Workers and farmers Flower symbol January 10, 1949
Factory Flower ball August 1949

¥5

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Shepherd Flower symbol February 23, 1949
Sailboat Flower symbol January 10, 1949
Cow and horse buggy Flower ball July 1949
Spinning Flower ball August 1949

¥10

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Irrigation field and mine Flower symbol December 1, 1948
Sawn timber and plow Flower symbol February 23, 1949
Railway Station Flower symbol May 25, 1949
Workers and farmers Temple August 1949

¥20

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Donkey and train Big flower ball December 1, 1948
Coal mines car Flower symbol February 23, 1949
Longevity Hill of Summer Palace Flower symbol July 1949
Working area Flower ball August 1949
Train and sailboat Flower ball August 1949
Field Flower ball September 1949
Longevity Hill of Summer Palace Flower ball October 1949

¥50

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Donkey and tub Flower symbol December 1, 1948
Train and bridge Car February 10, 1949
June 10, 1949
Workers and farmers Flower symbol August 1949
Railway Flower symbol March 20, 1949
Roller Carriage October 3, 1949
Railway Flower symbol April 1949

¥100

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Arable land and factory Flower symbol January 10, 1949
Railway station and road Flower symbol February 5, 1949
Longevity Hill of Summer Palace Train February 5, 1949
Factory Flower symbol March 20, 1949
Beihai Bridge Flower symbol March 25, 1949
July 1949
Ship bridge Large flower stand August 1949
Donkey team Flower symbol November 5, 1949
Longevity Hill of Summer Palace Train March 20, 1949
Sailboat Flower symbol January 20, 1950

¥200

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Summer Palace Flower symbol March 20, 1949
Pai Yundian (排云殿) Flower symbol May 8, 1949
Great Wall of China Flower symbol August 1949
Steel factory Flower symbol September 1949
Cut rice Flower symbol October 20, 1949

¥500

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Village Flower symbol September 10, 1949
Zhengyang Gate Flower symbol September 10, 1949
Crane Flower symbol October 3, 1949
Harvester Flower symbol October 20, 1949
Farming Flower symbol April 1, 1951
Zhandeng City (瞻德城) Flower symbol with Uyghur characters October 1, 1951

¥1,000

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Arable land Temple of Heaven September 11, 1949
Harvest Flower symbol October 3, 1949
Three tractors Cut wheat November 15, 1949
Carts and plowing Ship December 23, 1949
Qiantang River Bridge Flower ball January 20, 1950
Wrangler Flower symbol with Uyghur characters October 1, 1951

¥5,000

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Cultivator Flower symbol January 20, 1950
Factory Flower ball January 20, 1950
Camels Flower symbol with Mongolian characters May 17, 1951
Shepherd Flower symbol with Uyghur characters October 1, 1951
Wei River Railway Bridge Flower symbol September 25, 1953

¥10,000

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Ship Flower symbol January 20, 1950
Arable land Grazing cattle and sheep January 20, 1950
Wrangler Flower symbol with Mongolian characters May 17, 1951
Camels Flower symbol with Uyghur characters October 1, 1951

¥50,000

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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
Xinhua Gate Tractor December 1953
Harvester Produce December 1953

References

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  1. ^ "背景资料:中国已发行五套人民币 货币历史悠久". China New Service. August 10, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.