First series of the renminbi

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 They were officially withdrawn on various dates between April 1, 1955, and May 10, 1955.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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Image Obverse Reverse Date of issue
   Workers and farmers Flower symbol January 10, 1949
   Factory Flower ball August 1949
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.