From the Grading Room: Millennium Dragon

The front of this beautiful note pictures a gigantic dragon and fireball at the center. This dragon is the third dragon of the nine dragon screen found in Beihai Park, Beijing. The building on the back is of the China Centenary Altar in Beijing along with two flying Apsaras from the frescoes of the Dunhuang caves. It has very pleasing and complementary colors throughout.

"Commemorative" 100 Yuan Dragon Note

To date this has been one of the most popular notes here at PMG, and continues to be a favorite among collectors both in the United States and internationally, remaining very popular ever since it was released. This dual commemorative is truly a gem.

The People’s Bank of China issued their first, and so far only, polymer note on the 28th of November, 2000. It was printed in China at the Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation (BPMC). Two companies worked together on the security features and the Guardian® polymer substrate – Reserve Bank of Australia and UCB S.A. of Belgium.

The security features include: a clear window featuring a Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest at the Temple of Heaven, a shadow above the window reading “2000”, an Optically Variable Device (OVD) featuring a lantern with Chinese characters that represent the new millennium at the upper-right, micro-printing of “100” and “RMB” in separate alternating lines across the top of the back of the note along either side of the China Centenary Altar in Beijing. The serial number ink is two colors black and green, and the denomination on the front goes from red to green. The last security feature on this note is the UV ink that is only seen on the dragon and fireball on the front. When under UV light the dragon shines a bright yellow.

"Commemorative" 100 Yuan Dragon Note as an uncut pair

There are three different varieties of this note. The first is the issued note which BPMC printed approximately 9.1 million with prefix J; this note was also issued in a folder. The dragon note was also sold in uncut pairs, which has also been very popular to collect. There are replacements known for this note, which is easily identified by it’s I serial number prefix. All together in total there are about 10 million notes printed for this magnificent commemorative note.

Let’s hope this lucky dragon note will find its way into your collection!

PMG is an independent member of the Certified Collectibles Group (CCG).