Commemorating both the Year of the
Dragon and the new millennium, the 100 Yuan from the year 2000 (Pick 902) is
the first polymer note issued by the People's Republic of China.
The front of this beautiful note pictures
a gigantic dragon and fireball at the center. This dragon is the third dragon
of the nine dragon screen found in Beihai Park, Beijing. The building on the
back is of the China Centenary Alter in Beijing along with two flying Apsaras
from the frescoes of the Dunhuang caves. It has very pleasing and complementary
colors throughout.
This note continues to be a favorite among collectors internationally, remaining very popular ever since it was released. This
dual commemorative is truly a gem.
The People’s Bank of China issued their
first, and so far only, polymer note on the 28th of November, 2000. It was
printed in China at the Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation (BPMC). Two
companies worked together on the security features and the Guardian® polymer
substrate – Reserve Bank of Australia and UCB S.A. of Belgium.
The security features include: a clear
window featuring a Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest at the Temple of Heaven, a
shadow above the window reading “2000”, an Optically Variable Device (OVD)
featuring a lantern with Chinese characters that represent the new millennium
at the upper-right, micro-printing of “100” and “RMB” in separate alternating
lines across the top of the back of the note along either side of the China
Centenary Alter in Beijing. The serial number ink is two colors black and
green, and the denomination on the front goes from red to green. The last security
feature on this note is the UV ink that is only seen on the dragon and fireball
on the front. When under UV light the dragon shines a bright yellow.
"Commemorative" 100 Yuan Dragon Note as an uncut pair
There are three different varieties of this note. The first
is the issued note which BPMC printed approximately 9.1 million with prefix J;
this note was also issued in a folder. The dragon note was also sold in uncut
pairs, which has also been very popular to collect. There are replacements
known for this note, which is easily identified by it’s I serial number prefix.
All together in total there are about 10 million notes printed for this
magnificent commemorative note.
Happy Collecting.
Andrew
