Chinese customs gold unit
海關金單位兌換券1 (Chinese) CGU | |||||
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American Bank Note Company and more (see article) | |||||
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. 關金 for short |
Chinese customs gold unit | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | hǎiguān jīn dānwèi duìhuàn quàn |
The customs gold unit (CGU) was a currency issued by the
History
The customs gold unit was adopted on 1 February 1930 to replace the Haikwan (Hǎiguān) or Customs tael (海關両 hǎiguān liǎng) as the standard for customs payments. It was defined as equal to 601.866 mg fine gold or US$0.40. CGU notes were fully backed by silver and were legal tender for paying import duties. The CGU replaced the Haikwan tael at CGU150 = HkT100.
The CGU's value, fixed against the US dollar, fluctuated against the
The Chinese currency reform of 3 November 1935, which created the Chinese national yuan or dollar (CNC$), commonly known as the Chinese legal tender dollar or fapi in English (Chinese: 法幣; pinyin: fǎbì), also fixed an exchange rate of CGU100 = CNC$226.
The CGU's role in paying custom duties disappeared in 1941 when the government set ad valorem customs rates. On 1 April 1942 the custom gold unit's theoretical gold content was raised to 888.671 mg fine gold, equal to one US dollar. In practice, the customs gold unit lost all its special features and simply became equivalent to 20 Chinese legal tender dollars (CGU1 = CNC$20).
When Nationalist troops and officials arrived in Shanghai in 1945, they brought with them newly printed notes of 20 and 50 customs gold units. These notes proved more popular locally than Chinese legal tender notes and, due to a mistaken belief in the existence of a gold-redemption clause, they commanded a premium when exchanged for Central Reserve Bank notes of the
Banknotes
On 1 May 1930, the Central Bank of China put into circulation notes in denominations of 0.10, 0.20, 1, 5, and 10 customs gold units. These notes were printed by
On 1 April 1942, the Central Bank of China began to put into circulation its unissued stock of about CGU100 million in 1930-dated notes, including 20 and 50 denominations, not circulated previously.
In January 1947, the Central Bank of China released notes of 250 and 500 customs gold units. Although dated 1930, these notes had been printed by American Bank Note Company in 1946. Inflation led to yet higher denominations: 1000, 2000, 5000 in December 1947, and 10,000, 25,000, 50,000, and 250,000 in July 1948, shortly before the currency reform of that year.
Several note types were produced by nine different printers, with slight differences in
See also
- History of Chinese currency
- Chinese yuan
- Economy of China
- Economic history of China (Pre-1911)
- Economic history of China
References
- Xinhua News Agency (2003-06-11). 無頭鉅額票據纏上花旗銀行 專家稱只有收藏價值 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on December 5, 2003. Retrieved 2006-10-27.
- China Military Online (2005-10-14). 國民政府戰時關金政策的演變(一) (in Chinese). Retrieved 2006-10-27.
- China Military Online (2005-10-14). 國民政府戰時關金政策的演變(二) (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-10-27.