Rare PMG-certified Chinese Banknotes Offered in Upcoming Stack’s Bowers Auction

Two rare Chinese banknotes certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) are expected to sell for more than $100,000 each in an upcoming Stack’s Bowers auction. Online bidding is currently underway for the May 2022 Hong Kong Auction – Session A, which concludes on May 3, 2022.

The top offering among the almost 600 PMG-certified notes in the sale is a China, Hupeh Government Cash Bank 1904 10 Taels graded PMG 25 Very Fine (lot 40389), with an estimate of $225,000 to $275,000. The vertical format note shows two portraits at the top, with about three-fourths of the note displaying facing dragons at center. Hupeh is a province about 400 miles east of Shanghai, China’s most-populous city.

China, Hupeh Government Cash Bank 1904 10 Taels graded PMG 25 Very Fine. Click images to enlarge.

Another top lot is a China, Kwangsi Bank 1909 5 Yuan graded PMG 15 Choice Fine NET (lot 40393), with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. This “Black Dragon” note is the only example in the PMG Population Report of catalog number S2346, which the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money - Specialized Issues identifies as a "Yr. 2 - 1909." Kwangsi is a province in southern China bordering Vietnam.

China, Kwangsi Bank 1909 5 Yuan graded PMG 15 Choice Fine NET. Click images to enlarge.

Other PMG-certified highlights in the auction include:

• a group of two China / People’s Republic 1949 5 Yuan notes (Front Specimen and Back Specimen) graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine and PMG 45 Choice Extremely Fine (lot 40146), with an estimate of $50,000 to $75,000
• a group of six China / People’s Republic 1965 Military Payment Certificates (1 Fen, 5 Fen, 1 Chiao, 5 Chiao, 1 Yuan and 5 Yuan) graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine to PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated (lot 40439), with an estimate of $35,000 to $45,000
• a group of four China / People’s Republic Specimens — 1999 (ND 2000) 10 Yuan, 1999 20 Yuan, 1999 (ND 2001) 50 Yuan and 1999 100 Yuan — graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated EPQ to PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 40321), with an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000
• a China, Chi Tai Bank 1913 5 Dollars graded PMG 12 Fine (lot 40039), with an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000
• a Viet Nam – South, National Bank ND (1955-56) 1,000 Dong Specimen graded PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 40729), with an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000
• a group of two China / People’s Republic 1985 Promissory Notes (50 Yuan and 100 Yuan) each graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated (lot 40316), with an estimate of $15,000 to $17,500
• a China, Bank of China 1912 5 Yuan graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated (lot 40048), with an estimate of $12,500 to $17,500
• a China / People’s Republic 1950 50,000 Yuan graded PMG 25 Very Fine (lot 40261), with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000
• a Viet Nam – South, National Bank ND (1955-56) 1,000 Dong Specimen graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 40730), with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000
• a Hong Kong, Standard Chartered Bank 1994-97 20 Dollars graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 40514), with an estimate of $8,000 to $10,000
• a China / People's Republic 1953 10 Yuan Specimen graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated (lot 40294), with an estimate of $7,500 to $10,000

All estimates provided by the auction house in US Dollars.