Modern Fakes and Fantasies |
Updated and expanded periodically. Latest update: 15 April 2017
Numerous fakes and fantasies are to be found - especially via the internet. Some points to keep in mind when considering a banknote, even if only viewable online:
Is the printing quality up to the usual standards of the printer? Do the colours appear faded and 'flat'? Are the serial numbers overprinted (as in nearly all cases they should be)? Are they the correct style of serial number as comparable with most/all of the notes produced by that printer? Is the denomination correct for the period of issue (not too high)? Are there signs of dot matrix printing? Does the aging (if any) seem natural: for example, are there any hard and oddly placed lines left by the artificial staining of a group of fake notes?
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Some points on denominations:
Central Bank of China:
1000 Yuan (or higher) notes do not appear until 1942, and then only two De La Rue printed issues; SCWPM P252 and P253. There are no CBC notes dated before 1936 which have a denomination higher than $100 (or Yuan). There is only one between 1936-1941, which is the 500 Yuan of 1936 printed by Waterlow & Sons; SCWPM P221, and that was most likely issued in the early 1940s.
Customs Gold Units (CGU): There was only one CGU note dated before 1947 which was for 500 CGU (or higher); the SCWPM P332 500 CGU printed by the American Banknote Company, and though dated 1930 was issued in 1947. It is likely that all of the CGU issues from the 20CGU upwards, were entirely issued from 1947.
'1930', '1947' and '1948' are the only dates which appear on CGU issues.
Dollar or Yuan notes above $100/yuan do not appear by any Chinese issuer dated before 1936. The one exception is of notes issued by Commercial banks in Hong Kong; and all of these are rare.
Central Bank of China:
1000 Yuan (or higher) notes do not appear until 1942, and then only two De La Rue printed issues; SCWPM P252 and P253. There are no CBC notes dated before 1936 which have a denomination higher than $100 (or Yuan). There is only one between 1936-1941, which is the 500 Yuan of 1936 printed by Waterlow & Sons; SCWPM P221, and that was most likely issued in the early 1940s.
Customs Gold Units (CGU): There was only one CGU note dated before 1947 which was for 500 CGU (or higher); the SCWPM P332 500 CGU printed by the American Banknote Company, and though dated 1930 was issued in 1947. It is likely that all of the CGU issues from the 20CGU upwards, were entirely issued from 1947.
'1930', '1947' and '1948' are the only dates which appear on CGU issues.
Dollar or Yuan notes above $100/yuan do not appear by any Chinese issuer dated before 1936. The one exception is of notes issued by Commercial banks in Hong Kong; and all of these are rare.
Pre-Qing Paper Money
Fantasy/forgery of a 14thc. Ming Dynasty type note. These are available by the dozen on some auction sites. In the past I've seen some bid up into double and even triple figures, which in either case would be a bargain if these were genuine but they are of course not. For a few dollars they're probably worth buying for decorative purposes but that's all. Many/most are not even direct copies of real notes. It's also worth noting that the Ming Dynasty notes issued from 1375 - such as the examples held in the collections of the British Museum - are the earliest paper money to survive. Paper money of sorts began to be issued during the Tang Dynasty (from c.900 AD), with the Chinese government issuing official paper money from the Song Dynasty (from c.1120 AD), however so far no genuine examples of any of these are known. Nonetheless supposedly Tang and Song notes sometimes appear for sale. These types of fakes/forgeries rarely achieve high prices recently so hopefully with these notes at least, collectors and others are becoming far more aware. |
Qing Era issues (pre 1911)
Near right and right: A multitude of fakes/forgeries have appeared of vertical notes depicting a pair of flags and dragons, in many different colours and with various issuer titles, all purporting to be from the late Qing Dynasty. These are copied from a genuine note - but are modern fakes which can be found selling from a couple of dollars, up to several hundred in at least one case. The original notes are issues of the Ta Ching Government Bank, of 1911 (SCWPM China A83-A83J) - on these fakes, the original title has been obliterated and overprinted with new issuer titles in black. Near right and right: two examples of genuine notes (not to scale). These are unissued remainders, the right hand example retains its counterfoil. All genuine issues regardless of denomination have the same basic colour scheme. |
Below: Two examples (plus close-up) of numerous unbelievably poor fakes being sold currently (August 2016) by a seller on e-bay. The fact that such obviously bad quality fakes could attract any bids is almost beyond belief - they lack even the appeal of a decent replica. Even from relatively poor photos, the flat, 'dead' quality of the printing is clear, the paper is stiff and badly cut even showing the printers guide marks in the lower left-hand corner of the "Imperial Chinese Railways" note. |
Below: a lower piece of the margin of the original note (a scarce 10 Dollars of 1923 of the
Central Bank of China (1923-28)) had to be left in order to retain the printers name.
KMT Government Bank issues
Right: Bank of China 10 Yuan of 1918, Tientsin. Produced from a scanned copy of an original note like many of the examples on this page. Aside from the flat, dull colors and the completely straight edges; the discolored area at the bottom right shows multi-colored water damage to the printing inks - which would not occur with an original in this manner (for comparisons, see the water damaged notes in the currency cleaning section) , and is probably due to a fake-aging process (though most of the apparent 'aging' is likely part of the printing). |
The Central Bank of China 5 Million Customs Gold Units of 1930
Another poor fantasy $5M CGU but in a different colour. This version shows the flat, cheap quality of the printing better, and the clearly poor quality of the paper used; wrinkled to make it look old, but succeeding only in making it look more like the cheap fake that it is. Yet people are still fooled. Would the American Banknote Company have produced this? No. Even the 'nomadic' early communist banks of the early 1940's could do better than this 'on the run'. |
The Central Bank of China 5 million customs gold units of 1930
A bad fantasy note. There never was such a denomination and the design of a genuine note has been adapted, badly, to create this. That they left the 1930 date on is especially sloppy - the 500 CGU was the highest to carry that date (though issued in 1947 - only CGU with overprinted signatures and serial numbers on the front were issued before the 1940s). The serial numbers are of a font typical of modern fakes - though some genuine notes do have such serial numbers; they were never used by the American Banknote Company. |
The Central Bank of China: The North-Eastern Yuan 東北九省流通券
Fakes of the scarce low denomination issues of the Central Bank of China's notes for the North Eastern Provinces (Manchuria; the former puppet state of Manchukuo) are increasingly common - no doubt both due to their desirability and being more difficult to detect, especially online. The 1945 1, 5 and 10 yuan are the most commonly encountered fakes; the 50 Yuan less so, so far. Below is an example of a recently ebay listed fake, and a genuine note for comparison.
The Central Bank of China North Eastern Provinces 10 Yuan of 1945 (SCWPM 377). Above: the modern fake, below: a genuine example. The genuine note has silk threads in the paper, a far darker underprint (though this may not always be the case) and much heavier, less neat serial numbering. The seal too is heavier, less neat and slightly larger than that of the fake - both serial and seal are clearly overprinted as they should be. Conversely, the printing of the main design tends to be less heavy, less stark, on the genuine notes.
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The Central Bank of China 10 Yuan of 1945 (1948) fantasy-fake. A blending of elements culled from across the ABNC 1945 series. The building on the back is the same as that of the 100 yuan - though using a different engraving. Wrong serial font and poor printing.
The Central Bank of China 50 Yuan 1945 (1948) fake. The usual false serial numbers and poor quality printing, including the incorrect colouring - even more obvious when compared with the genuine note (right).
The Central Bank of China 100 Yuan of 1948 - genuine. Compare with the fantasy-fake to the right.
The Central Bank of China 5000 Yuan of 1945 fantasy-fake. Ludicrous fake using elements from New Gold Yuan notes printed by the Chung Hwa Book Co. in 1949, including the signatures of the 1949 bank officials.
The Central Bank of China 100 Yuan of 1945 (1948). Genuine.
A genuine example for comparison with the modern fake (right). Below: details from the forgery (right) showing the printed planchette (security dot) and the phony serial numbers. |
The Central Bank of China 100 Yuan of 1943 fantasy-fake. The date is the main design flaw. No new series of notes for the Central Bank of China were printed by the American Banknote company between 1931-45, and on-going issues of the 1928 and 1930 notes were probably sporadic after 1941. The portrait appears the same as that used on the other fakes, but is however taken from 1948 issues of the Central Bank printed by the Central China Printing Factory. The reverse scene is adapted from that of the genuine green 20 Yuan of the 1945 (1948) series.
The Central Bank of China 50 Yuan of 1945 (1948) Genuine example.
The Central Bank of China 100 Yuan of 1945 (1948) fantasy-fake. An adaptation of the green 1948 100 Yuan printed by Chung Hwa. (see left).
The Central Bank of China 1,000,000 Gold Yuan of 1945 fantasy-fake. Another adaptation of the 1949 Chung Hwa printed notes. Aside from the usual indicators of poor printing, the denomination is far too high for 1945 dated notes. Only a limited number of 1 million yuan notes appeared in 1949.
The Central Bank of China 100 Yuan of 1945 (1948) fake. As with many fakes of this type: the serial numbers are the wrong font and would never be in a different hue to the prefix letters. The small colored paper security dots which are supposed to be in the body of the paper are too visible as they have been printed on. The printing is flat and dull, which becomes more obvious when compared with the genuine example (upper left).
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An oddity:
A forgery/copy of the Central Bank of China 1000 Gold Yuan of 1949 (P 411). The dominant colours of the original note are brown (front) and red (back). This note is clearly not genuine, however; when it was made and why is a mystery. It seems to have some age, and to have circulated in some fashion but seems too poor as a counterfeit to have been intended as such. Aside from the radically different colour scheme, there is of course the monochromatic nature of the printing. |
So called 'Guo Min Revolution Army Ticket' "1926"
Provincial Banks and Commercial banks
Fu-Tien Bank of Yunnan $50 of 1928
A frequently occurring fantasy/fake - the flat colours are obvious even through a photo, showing the front not to be engraved as it should be. The large clumsy serial numbers are another giveaway. Right: Hing Kee 'Silver Shop' - 慶記, Qingzhou, Shantung. A modern forgery on old paper, with added ageing effects. A close examination reveals dot-matrix printing. The printing of the red characters appears 'flat'. Most of these and similar types of vertical 'small-commercial' notes offered online (and probably elsewhere) in recent years are modern fakes. Usually at the better quality end of modern fakes, though I suspect that some people have been copying these too! These fake notes are hard to detect online. The best suggestion is to check whether the seller is offering other more clearly fake or spurious/fantasy notes. |
Left: Supposedly a 1929 10 cents of the Fu-Tien Bank (Yunnan). A recently encountered forgery-fantasy that I have not seen before. Aside from the usual criticisms of the flat, poor quality printing, the design borrows almost entirely from the '1931' (actually c.1936) 10 cents of the Central Bank of China (SCWPM P202), originally printed by the Chung Hwa Book Co. Note the clumsy attempt to alter the printers name which has left a faint border around the American Banknote Company name beneath the lower border of the back. Also, there is the badly worded red oval overprint. |
Right: a recently encountered example (April 2017) of a bad fake based on a genuine note. This purports to be a 1932 $10,000 issue of a fictitious Shanghai Provincial Bank, but is a badly conceived fantasy using the 1949 $10 of the Kwangtung Provincial Bank as a base. Points to consider: this is clearly a non-Chinese fake as the original Chinese bank name still appears on the front. The serial numbers and seals are part of the body of the printing (which only happens with 'Hell notes' and some small-commercial notes). Shanghai is not a province. And if it was a Shanghai provincial based note, it would not depict a monument in Canton (Guangzhou). $10,000 would have been a ridiculous amount in 1932; such high denominations did not appear until 1947, due to hyper-inflation. |
This fake sold for over $30.00 USD in a recent online auction.
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Right: a fantasy note for a supposed 'Xinluhang Bank' for 100 cents of 1949. This bizarre note appears frequently and often sells despite being so clearly wrong. 'Cents' notes of any issuer were not denominated in any amount higher than 50 cents during this period (and not since the 1920s to early 1930s when they last were). The back issuer title is amateurish in layout and more importantly written in pinyin which was not developed until the 1950s. The main front vignette is a mirror image borrowed from Amoy Industrial Bank notes of c.1941 (see below right). The back vignette is of the parliament building at Nanking (Nanjing), which is borrowed from Central Bank of China issues of 1949 (see below) - in fact the entire back is taken from the Central Bank of China 100 Yuan of 1949 (SCWPM 408; see below) and is compressed to fit the space! |
Early Communist & Peoples Bank of China issues
Bank of Bei Hai 500 Yuan of 1947 (genuine). Brown back design which can be seen faintly through the paper.
Near right: by comparing the serial numbers it soon becomes clear which is of the genuine note (upper serial). The fake serial is the wrong shade, far to heavy and too neatly printed. Far right: Again, the difference is soon apparent as no genuine note of the period would have such a neatly applied, uniform seal (right). |
Bank of Bei Hai 500 Yuan of 1947 (modern fake). Blue back design (as front) which cannot be seen through the paper. Identical but wrong colour from the genuine note. The design as a heavier clumsier feel when compared to the genuine note: compare the truck within the front vignette.
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The Peoples Bank of China
There are so many forgeries - and not always easily detectable, especially if purchased online - of early Peoples Bank notes (up to 1953) that the majority offered for sale anywhere without verifiable authentication documentation are recent fakes. There is a problem with later notes, however these are forged less frequently and are usually easier to detect.
Also, be aware that some sellers are selling these cheaper modern fakes as "counterfeits" for US$20 to 30 or more, presumably in the hope that some unsuspecting collector will mistake them for old forgeries of the period of issue - which do have collectible, historical and financial value.
(On a personal note: until recently I had no pre-1953 Peoples Bank notes in my collection, mainly due to the problem of forgeries - as well as the increasingly high price of such notes at the more reliable end of authenticity. Recently I spotted two notes from 1949 in a group that was being auctioned cheaply ("if genuine") and decided that it was worth risking a few pounds! The photos provided were not good, however the two notes in question seemed to show signs of genuine circulation and display some of the features that distinguish genuine notes from the vast majority of fakes; such as the appearance of the serial numbers and seals. Fortunately the notes indeed turned out to be genuine).
There are so many forgeries - and not always easily detectable, especially if purchased online - of early Peoples Bank notes (up to 1953) that the majority offered for sale anywhere without verifiable authentication documentation are recent fakes. There is a problem with later notes, however these are forged less frequently and are usually easier to detect.
Also, be aware that some sellers are selling these cheaper modern fakes as "counterfeits" for US$20 to 30 or more, presumably in the hope that some unsuspecting collector will mistake them for old forgeries of the period of issue - which do have collectible, historical and financial value.
(On a personal note: until recently I had no pre-1953 Peoples Bank notes in my collection, mainly due to the problem of forgeries - as well as the increasingly high price of such notes at the more reliable end of authenticity. Recently I spotted two notes from 1949 in a group that was being auctioned cheaply ("if genuine") and decided that it was worth risking a few pounds! The photos provided were not good, however the two notes in question seemed to show signs of genuine circulation and display some of the features that distinguish genuine notes from the vast majority of fakes; such as the appearance of the serial numbers and seals. Fortunately the notes indeed turned out to be genuine).
Peoples Bank of China 500 Yuan of 1951 (genuine).
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PBC 500 Yuan of 1951 (modern fakes)
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(SCWPM 857). Most of the examples of this banknote viewable online appear to be modern fakes, some better than others. The two examples (above right) of such fakes show how widely the quality varies. The lower example is printed on cheap discoloured paper in an attempt to give the appearance of aging. The printing is flat and dull. The upper example is more successful, however (in both cases) the colouring is not quite right and the black vignette is too well defined in appearance. Nearly every fake seems to use a serial number beginning with '56245..'
There is also the fact of this being a particularly rare and valuable banknote; the second or third most valuable of any of the Peoples Bank of China issues, which means that though it's not impossible for it to turn up for sale at a bargain price, it is very unlikely.
Da Jiang Bank - 大江银行
In recent months, many, many modern fakes have appeared of both vertical and horizontal format banknotes by this 1940s early communist issuer. Most are copies, some are pure fantasy.
Above: A genuine Da Jiang Bank 20 Yuan of 1945 as sold by a reputable Chinese auctioneer. Note that though crude, this example is clearly genuinely block printed and that the details are fairly sharp.
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Above: A modern fake found across internet auction sites. The colours are wrong, the printing is indistinct, with many blurred and obscured details. The serial numbers are incorrect, and the seals too large and clumsily added in a misguided attempt to outdo the crude appearance of the original. The guilloche underprint is small and unicoloured.
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