Museum objects
0 shown · 5 cited but not shown. An image only appears here if it is openly
licensed and confirmed to depict the object we claim. Otherwise we cite it and link you to
the museum — we would rather show you nothing than show you the wrong thing.
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First Series RMB 1948
Referenced via Wikipedia / historical archives
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
View it at the museum ↗
First Series Renminbi Note (1948)
Referenced via Wikipedia / historical archives · First Series RMB 1948 · December 1, 1948
The very first renminbi banknote, issued in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, with calligraphy by Dong Biwu.
Mei arrived quietly in a provincial city, not a capital — and by the time anyone noticed, she was already the currency of the world's most populous nation.
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Complete RMB printing plate set
Shanghai Bank Museum
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
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RMB Steel Printing Plates (Complete Set)
Shanghai Bank Museum · Complete RMB printing plate set · Mid-20th century
The only complete set of original renminbi steel printing plates known to exist in the world.
Every renminbi bill that has ever entered circulation traces back to plates like these — the literal fingerprint behind Mei's entire physical existence.
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Spink lot 233
Spink Auction House (private sale record)
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
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'Famous Running Horse' Rare Note
Spink Auction House (private sale record) · Spink lot 233 · First Series RMB
An extremely rare denomination of the first series renminbi, prized by collectors and auctioned by Spink.
Most of these notes were destroyed or lost — the few that survive are treated almost like relics, evidence of how quickly and completely Mei's early history vanished.
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O1061242
Victoria and Albert Museum
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
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Shanghai, 1949 (Cartier-Bresson Photograph)
Victoria and Albert Museum · O1061242 · 1949
An iconic photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson capturing the chaos and transition in Shanghai during the Communist takeover.
This image is the human backdrop to Mei's rise — an entire society reorganizing itself in real time, right as her currency was becoming the only one that mattered.
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IMF SDR announcement Oct 2016
International Monetary Fund
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
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IMF SDR Basket Inclusion Announcement
International Monetary Fund · IMF SDR announcement Oct 2016 · October 2016
The IMF's official announcement adding the Chinese renminbi to its Special Drawing Rights basket of reserve currencies.
Nearly seventy years after arriving quietly in a provincial city, Mei was finally recognized by the world's most exclusive currency club — and she barely made a sound doing it.
Primary sources
The documents themselves. We link and quote — that is citation, and it needs no licence.
Wikipedia: First Series of the Renminbi
encyclopedia_entry · Ongoing · Wikipedia contributors · Wikipedia
Reference overview on the original 1948 renminbi banknote series.
Background on the very first version of China's currency, from 1948.
IMF Adds Chinese Renminbi to Special Drawing Rights Basket
official_announcement · 2016 · International Monetary Fund · IMF
Official IMF press release on the renminbi's inclusion in the SDR basket.
The IMF's own announcement about adding China's currency to its elite basket of reserve currencies.
Shanghai Bank Museum Collection Records
museum_record · Ongoing · Shanghai Municipal Government · Shanghai Bank Museum
Official documentation of the museum's unique collection of RMB printing plates.
Official records about a Shanghai museum's unique collection of the original tools used to print China's money.
V&A Museum Collection Record: Shanghai, 1949
museum_record · Ongoing · Victoria and Albert Museum · Victoria and Albert Museum
Museum documentation of Henri Cartier-Bresson's iconic photograph of 1949 Shanghai.
A British museum's record of a famous 1949 photograph of Shanghai during China's revolutionary transition.
Spink Auction Record: Famous Running Horse Note
auction_record · Ongoing · Spink & Son · Spink
Auction house documentation of a rare first-series renminbi note.
An auction house's record of one of the rarest and most valuable early Chinese banknotes.
Where this money travelled
Mei was born quietly in Shijiazhuang in 1948, a year before the People's Republic was formally declared, and grew into one of the world's most closely watched reserve currencies.
Shijiazhuang, Hebei38.0428, 114.5149
Beijing (Tiananmen)39.9042, 116.4074
Yan'an36.6000, 109.4900
Shanghai (Bank Museum)31.2304, 121.4737
Washington, D.C. (IMF)38.8994, -77.0447
What we don't know
The page no competitor will build.
- 5 of 5 objects on this page are cited but not shown — either the rights are not cleared, or we could not verify that an available image really depicts the object. We would rather show you nothing than show you the wrong thing.
- 1 source(s) here are Wikipedia — a tertiary source. It is a pointer, not our evidence. These are being replaced with the primary documents Wikipedia itself cites.
- 2 link(s) on this page are currently unreachable and are being replaced.
