China 1 Jiao banknote 1960
Obverse: Vignette of "Combination of education and productive labour", symbolizing education renovation. This note shows unity within the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and carries text in Tibetan, Mongolian and Uighur as well as Chinese.
Reverse: National Emblem of the People's Republic of China.
People's Bank of China banknotes
Chung Kuo Jen Min Yin Hang / Zhongguo Renmin Yinhang
Third series of the renminbi (1960 - 1972 series)
1960 Issue
1 Jiao 1 Yuan 2 Yuan 5 Yuan
The research and planning of series 3 began in 1955. On 1/23 1959, PBC handed the report of new series RMB to the State Council. The Bank also reported the draft design and main theme to the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Prime Minister Zhou carefully reviewed the plan and gave a lot of suggestions. According to Zhou, artists from Central Academy of Fine Arts and Central Academy of Arts and Design (the latter is now part of Tsinghua University) and printing experts gathered to work on the detail. After several revision, the final draft was completed on 6/6 1959, and PBC again reported it to its superior. At this time, production of all notes except the 5 Jiao has begun. Because the images on 10 Yuan note was not finalized until 6/18 1965, the date printed was changed to 1965 accordingly. The 5 Jiao was not finalized either because Zhou commented that "light industry in one of the Jiao notes?" when he reviewed the draft. The draft was finished on 7/24 1972. Therefore the date was changed to 1972. The test "People's Bank of China" was written in Li font by Ma Wen-Wei, the same as series two. However, the Chinese denomination was written in Song font. (For you information, Song font is a modern looking font. It is the most frequently used in modern printing of newspaper and other publications, like the "Times New Roman". Li font is a classical font which became mutual in Han Dynasty (202 B.C. - 220 A.D.).)
The third series has some new features compared to the second series:
First is the clear, distinct main theme with national characteristics. The 1 Jiao, which has two main designs, carries the image of "Combination of education and productive labour", symbolizing education renovation. The 2 Jiao which carries "the Bridge over Yangtze River in Wuhan" symbolize the achievement of socialism. The 5 Jiao has "women working in textile factory", symbolizing development in light industry. Three Jiao notes bears Chrysanthemum, Peony, Cotton and plum on their reverse side symboling the blossom socialism, science, and art. The 1 Yuan note has a female driving tractor on obverse, symbolizing agriculture as the base of all production. The 2 Yuan has a machinist working at lathe symbolizing industry as the main output. The 5 Yuan has a man working in a foundry symbolizing industry is as hard as steel. The 2 Yuan and 5 Yuan has petroleum mine and opencast mining on the reverse symbolizing the development of energy industry. The 10 Yuan carries the image of Delegates of the "People's Congress stepping out of the People's Congress Hall" symbolizing people participating politics. The reverse is Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) decorated with peony pattern symbolizing a united and strong mother country.
Second is the unconventional border design. Old Chinese banknote designs were constrained, i.e. all the images and patterns are put in rectangular border. There was already some changes during the second series, which uses only the upper border and the lower border. The third series took it to the next step. The top border is gone, and the lower border has been radically changed. Except the first 1 Jiao, all Jiao notes are without any border so that the image appears to be more open on smaller notes.
Third is the vivid color. Due to technology, the second series banknotes are monocolor. This kinds of notes are not beautiful enough and easier to forge. The third series not only has a color theme, it also has multicolor printing technology, so that the image became more lively and harder to counterfeit.
Fourth is the addition of Zhuang text, and the changes of relative location of the texts of the minorities. Based on the Mongolian, Uighur, and Tibetan of the second series, the suggestion of Zhuang text by the State Ethnic Affair Commission was adopted. Therefore the location of all 4 minority text was rearranged.
Fifth is smaller physical size. On 10/16 1961, PBC reported a proposal of "smaller banknotes for the new series". The main reason is that agriculture was damaged by two consecutive years of natural disaster, therefore greatly reduced the supply of cotton and sesame oil. The proposal was approved on 10/29. The sizes of all denomination were reduced, which helped the circulation convenience and saved the printing cost.
On 4/15 1980, PBC issued 1 Jiao, 2 Jiao, 5 Jiao, and 1 Yuan coins dated 1980 by the order of the State Council. The duration of circulation was 7 years. Because of the limited supply of copper and nickel and demand factor, the quantity issued was only symbolic except coins dated 1981.
The obverse side (except 1 Yuan with the great wall) of Jiao coins are similar that of 1955 coins. The differences are the new wheel gear and the simplification of Chinese text. The color (golden yellow or nickel white) is different because of composition (copper zinc alloy or nickel copper alloy). The reverse side is the National Emblem. Although this coin series is considered regular circulated coin, in fact, the scale of circulation was not very large. As of now, this coin series is in the collection area.
The third series is the second longest series in circulation, which officially stopped circulating on 7/1 2000. The series has a clear theme and a new design, the denomination structure is reasonable, and the printing technology was advanced. It makes a remarkable page on the Chinese monetary history. On the collectors' view, it is also a series with great potential.