On November 3, 1935, the Chinese government issued a decree on monetary reform. To realize the importance of making this decision, you need to understand what was happening in China at the end of the first half of the 20th century. 23 years after the victory of the Xinhai Revolution and the abdication of Pu Yi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the struggle for spheres of influence between the former military leaders of the Chinese Empire, the Communists and the ruling nationalist Kuomintang party continued in the country. The civil war weakened the country in the face of a common enemy - the Japanese Empire, sluggish hostilities against which, which began in 1931, in 1937 will develop into a large war, which will lead to the occupation of a significant part of China. The numerous, but scattered throughout the country, poorly equipped and untrained army of the Republic of China will be unable to contain Japanese aggression. The lack of autocracy in a vast territory contributed to the beginning of the formation of pro-Japanese puppet states. The first among them was Manchukuo, led by the former Chinese emperor Pu Yi, formed in 1931 with the support of the Kwantung Japanese army .
There were problems with cash circulation. Republican issues of coins from 1912 to 1934 did not enjoy the confidence of the population, so the leadership of the Chinese provinces issued their own coins that did not have the ability to pay in other territories. The issuance of coins for single circulation throughout China was one of the steps towards the economic unification of the country. And it worked out. Coins of a new sample of bronze (1/2 and 1 cent) and nickel (5, 10, 20 cents), issued in 1936, became extremely popular among the population. The issue of regional banknotes was discontinued .
Y # 346, ½ cents 1936 (二十五), bronze, 64.7 MMex, single year of manufacture
Y # 347, 1 cent 1937 (二十六), bronze, 307.2 M ex. years 1936-1939
Y # 348, 5 cents 1936 (二十五), nickel, 72.8 MM equivalent, years 1936-1939
Y # 349, 10 cents 1936 (二十五), nickel, 73.9 MM equivalent, years 1936-1939
Y # 350, 20 cents 1936 (二十五), nickel, 49.6 MM equivalent, years 1936-1939
The reverse of all coins of this line depicts an ancient bronze Chinese coin in the form of a spatula, produced in the V-III centuries BC. The obverse of the bronze coins depicts the symbol of the Kuomintang party - a white sun on a blue background. On the obverse of the nickel coins is a profile of the "Father of the Chinese Nation," the first interim president of the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925)
Dating of coins of the Republic of China keeps an account from the Xinhai Revolution of 1912 - the 1st year (一).
1936 - 25th year (二十五 ) 1940 - 29th year (二十九)
1937 - 26th year (二十六 ) 1941 - 30th year (三十)
1938 - 27th year (二十七 ) 1942 - 31st year (三十一)
1939 - 28th year (二十八 ) 1943 - 32nd year (三十二)
The entire production of coins of the first issue (more than 570 million copies), according to the plan of the country's leadership, was to be concentrated in Shanghai at the Central Mint. At the same time, the release of 1 million coins in denominations of 10 cents was also organized at the mint in Tianjin. Nickel for the workpieces of Tianjin coins had minor impurities of other metals, so the coins do not react to a magnet, unlike Shanghai ones. Stamp pairs, albeit barely noticeable, also differed.
In addition to these volumes, a large order for the manufacture of nickel coins of the first year of production (120 million copies) was placed in Austria, at the Krupp plant in Berndorf. From coins issued in China, the Austrian issue is distinguished by the letter "A" on the reverse, as well as more significant differences in stamp pairs: the shape of the shoulder blade, the writing of yergolifs, the portrait of Sun Yat-sen itself.
Y # 348.1, 5 cents 1936 (二十五), "A" - Mint of Vienna, nickel, 20 million exes, only year of issue
After production, the coins were delivered to China from Austria after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War and transported through Hong Kong and Canton to the Chinese city of Hankou (currently part of the infamous city of Wuhan), from where, at the direction of the nationalist government that took refuge there, the coins were metered into circulation.
In August 1937, before the impending Japanese occupation of Shanghai, the production of coins was suspended, the machines were dismantled and sent to other cities of the country: Wuchang (Hubei province), Guilin (Guangxi province), Chongqing (Sichuan province), Lanhou (Jiangsu province), Chengdu (Sichuan province). Some of the machines were hidden in Shanghai.
In 1939, 1 and 2 cents came into circulation in an updated design of the ornament in a circle of the coin on blanks made of brass of a reduced diameter. Coins were issued by the mint in Kunming (Yunnan Province).
Y # 353, 1 cent 1939 (二十八), brass, single year of manufacture
Y # 354, 2 cents 1939 (二十八), brass, 300 MMex., single year of manufacture
The issue of coins from 1937 until 1940 was officially carried out by the mint in Guilin (Guangxi province) and the mint in Kunming (Yunnan province).
In early 1940, the Chinese Ministry of Finance, in connection with the rising price of strategic nickel, determined a new alloy composition for coins in denominations from 5 to 50 cents, which was supposed to consist of 18% nickel, 55% copper and 27% zinc. Pure nickel coins from 1936-1939 were to be withdrawn from circulation and sent for remelting. At the same time, the Japanese also bought nickel, so important for military needs, through their puppet states.
A mint in the city of Chengdu (Sichuan province) joined the issue of denominations of coins of a new type in denominations of 5 and 10 cents. Coins of the second type differ from coins of the 1936 model in size, design, material of blanks and a set of denominations of the coin series, in which there is no denomination of ½ cents, denominations of 2 and 50 cents (½ yuan) appeared.
Y # 357, 1 cent 1940 (二十九), brass, 50M equivalent, single year of manufacture
Y # 359, 5 cents 1940 (二十九), copper-nickel alloy, 57 MMex. production years 1940-1941
Y # 360, 10 cents 1940 (二十九), copper-nickel alloy, 68 MMex. production years 1940-1942
Y # 361, 20 cents 1942 (三十一), copper-nickel alloy, 30.3 MMexe, single year of manufacture
Y # 362, 50 cents 1942 (三十一), copper-nickel alloy, 57 million equivalent, production years 1942-1943
At the end of this mini-review, I want to present to your attention two coins on aluminum blanks issued in 1940 in Shanghai occupied by the Japanese. Coinage was carried out by the American Engineering Corporation by order of the Federal Reserve Bank of China, whose central office was located in Beijing and was completely controlled by the Japanese administration. However, due to a shortage of trifles, the official Chinese authorities were forced to recognize these coins as legal tender, even though the coins lack the former coin symbols of the Republic of China: the emblem of the Kuomintang party or the profile of Sun Yat-sen. Designed in a similar design, aluminum coins in denominations of 2 and 10 cents were not put into circulation.
Y # 355, 1 cent 1940 (二十九), aluminum, 150 MMex. single year of manufacture
Y # 356, 5 cents 1940 (二十九), aluminum, 350 MMexe, single year of manufacture
After the end of World War II in 1944-1945, street vendors bought aluminum coins from the population and resold them in bulk to the Shanghai Aluminum Rolling Plant, where they initially purchased sheets for stamping the same coins.
In 1949, the Chinese Civil War ended with the victory of the Communist Party. On the vast territory of China , a new state was formed - the People's Republic of China. The borders of the Republic of China decreased to the borders of the island of Taiwan and a small adjacent territory, where the leadership of the Kuomintang party took refuge. On the coins of this small state, Sun Yat-sen's profile continues to be minted to this day.