1930 China 5-50 CGU Gold Certificates 4-pc Set XF

Chinese Gold Notes Printed In The United States

This four-piece set consists of Chinese bank notes printed in the United States by the American Bank Note Company and dated 1930. Each note bears a different Custom Gold Units (CGU) denomination: 5, 10, 20, and 50. These CGUs were issued in Shanghai in 1930 by the Central Bank of China and intended to facilitate customs payments. During and after the Second World War, however, they were used in general circulation. They continued to be printed throughout the 1940s with a set date.

The Father Of Modern China

On the front is a portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), a man known as the "Father of Modern China." Philosopher, physician, and politician, Sun was instrumental in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and served as the first provisional president of the Republic of China. His political career was marked mostly by setbacks, yet he became a cult figure in China after his death. Today he is the only Chinese leader of the 20th Century to be widely revered on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Each note's reverse displays a crisp vignette of the Central Bank of China.

Vertical Notes Represent Traditional Chinse Script

These notes are unique in that they were printed so that they're read vertically rather than horizontally. That's because traditional Chinese is written vertically in columns going from top to bottom and from right to left, with each new column starting to the left of the preceding one. The stroke order and stroke direction of Chinese characters, called "hanzi," facilitate writing in this manner. In addition, writing in vertical columns from right to left facilitated writing with a brush in the right hand while continually unrolling the sheet of paper or scroll with the left. Each note in this set also comes in Extremely Fine (XF) condition. Act now!