Central Bank of China Customs Gold Unit (CGU) 1930 – Sun Yat-sen / Shanghai Customs House

1930 Central Bank of China Customs Gold Unit note (various denominations): front with portrait of Sun Yat-sen at center or left, Chinese text and seals; reverse showing the Shanghai Customs House building in detailed engraving, with English text “Promises to Pay the Bearer on Demand” and denomination in Customs Gold Units; printed by American Bank Note Company.

Price:

$ 20

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Description

Issued from 1930 (dated 1930, printed into 1940s) by Central Bank of China; originally for customs payments (to stabilize trade amid silver volatility), later circulated generally during/after WWII and hyperinflation era until 1948. Printed by American Bank Note Company (ABNC), New York. Various denominations (e.g., 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 CGU in 1930; higher like 250/500 in 1947, up to 10,000 in 1948).

Obverse: Portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (center or left), bank name, denomination in Chinese/English, “Pay on Demand”, guilloche patterns/seals.
Reverse: Shanghai Customs House building (neo-classical structure on the Bund), denomination, “The Central Bank of China Promises to Pay the Bearer on Demand… Customs Gold Units”, signatures.
Features: Running serial numbers; no security thread reported in most. Withdrawn; not legal tender.