Yuan (China)

Yuan
圓 / 元
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	cent
1/1000	mwen
Banknotes
Freq. used	20, 10, 5, and 1 Yuan
Rarely used	10,000, 5,000, 1,000, 500, 100, and 50 Yuan
Coins
Freq. used	50, 20, 10, 5, 2, and 1 cent(s) 5 mwen
Rarely used	2 and 1 mwen
Demographics
Date of introduction	Feb. 1, 1953
User(s)	Republic of China
Issuance
Central bank	Central Bank of China

The Yuan or Chinese Dollar (Chinese: 圓／元) is the currency of the Republic of China. It is divisible into 100 cents (fen, 分), and each cent is further divisble into 10 mwen (文). China has at various points adopted currency systems based on a unit called the yuan, but the current system was imposed in 1953 and reformed in 1956.

History

Hyperinflation haunted China's economy in the first half of the 20th century due to monetary indiscipline, counterfeiting leading to lack of trust, and also lack of a centralized currency authority at times. When China was politically unified for the first time in 1930 since the end of the Qing dynasty, it had largely relied on the silver specie as its coin of trade, while for accounting purposes the silver content itself was calculated since the fineness of specie was frequently unreliable in large quantities. In imitation of international trends, the silver standard was replaced with fiat money in the monetary reform of 1934.

In the ensuing First Korean War, the relatively stable 1934 fiat dollar steadily devalued as the government issued more fiat banknotes to cover the costs of the war. By the end of the war in 1945, the fiat dollar had depreciated by about 90%. Yet after the war, the cessation of wartime production controls led to an immediate shortage of merchandise and agricultural products on the market. Eventually, inflation spiralled out of control in 1947, and by 1948 an average meal costed hundreds of thousands. Since the devaluation of currency was widely known, most recipients of money sought to convert it into bullion, shares, land, or goods as soon as possible, causing hoarding and discouraging production. Furthermore, a rapidly devaluing currency also meant govenrment revenues quickly became worthless, creating a vicious cycle by which more currency must be created to stave off bankruptcy.

Co-inciding with the constitutional convention in 1948, the fiat currency was demonetized (ceased to be valuable) overnight in May 6, 1948 and the gold standard instituted in its stead. The gold standard allowed the government to collect customs revenues in gold bullion from importers, which formed a lifeline of hard revenues until the re-imposition of income tax in 1961. Despite successfully ending hyperinflation, transitioning into the gold standard resulted in a near-reset of the Chinese economy because many businesses were unable to obtain sufficient currency to pay each other and employees; a barter system was widely seen in the late 40s.

As the government possessed gold reserves, it took a proactive role in putting money on the gold standard into the economy. The strength of the gold-standard Yuan became problematic, and currency stability permitted the government to change the structure of the money supply in 1952 to a combination of gold, foreign exchange, and shares in public companies.

Notes

The Central Bank issues Yuan notes in ten denominations:

• 2 Yuan (as of 2024 ≈ $2.86)
• 5 Yuan (as of 2024 ≈ $7.14)
• 10 Yuan (as of 2024 ≈ $14.3)
• 50 Yuan (as of 2024 ≈ $71.4)
• 100 Yuan (as of 2024 ≈ $143)
• 500 Yuan (as of 2024 ≈ $714)
• 1,000 Yuan (as of 2024 ≈ $1,428)
• 5,000 Yuan (as of 2024 ≈ $7,140)
• 10,000 Yuan (as of 2024 ≈ $14,280)

In practice, banknotes denominated above $100 are rare in circulation as the Central Bank issues them in limited quantities. It is thought that most of these notes are held by banks and are not provided by tellers unless specifically requested.

Coins

Denomination	Value (INT$)	Dimensions (mm)	Mass (g)	Material	Obverse	Reverse	Edge	Date of issue
1 Yuan	1.893	41.0 × 2.4	28.2	Cupronickel			Milled
50 cents	0.947	31.8 × 2	14.1
20 cents	0.379	24.1 × 1.38	5.64
10 cents	0.189	19.2 × 1.1	2.82
5 cents	0.095	14.9 × 0.9	1.41
2 cents	0.038	38 × 2.5	24.1	Bronze			Smooth
1 cent	0.019	30 × 2	12.05
0.5 cent	0.009	24 × 1.56	6.025
0.2 cent	0.004	24 × 1.5	1.83	Aluminium
0.1 cent	0.002	18 × 1.2	1

The cupronickel coins were originally struck in silver as part of the gold restandardization in 1947, but the rise in silver value throughout the 50s threatened the circulation of the coin as speculators sought to gather the coins with a view to melt them down once the bullion value surpassed the face value. Pre-emptively, the Central Mint started striking cupronickel coins, which quickly displaced silver coins.

Owing to the large disparity in income across China, aluminium pieces were introduced to divide further the smallest regular-issue 0.5 cent piece. Up to the 1990s, some remote areas in China had common wages as low as 6 Yuan a month, necessitating very small coins to circulate in these regions. These coins are not minted by the Central Mint but by private factories under authorization from the Central Bank. Not all issues of the aliminium coins were backed by deposits in Yuan, an intentional policy to ensure illicit mintages would not threaten the credibility of the Yuan.

All cupronickel coins, from the 1 Yuan piece to the 5 cent piece, have unlimited legal tender value, valid to settle debts of any amount. The bronze 2 cent, 1 cent, and 0.5 cent pieces and aluminium 0.2 and 0.1 cent pieces are valid to use at 100 pieces at a time.