Description and research notes
This 1949 100 Yuan Red Ship alignment trial from the People's Bank of China belongs to the production history of the First Series Renminbi, the founding paper-money issue of the early People's Republic of China. The issued Red Ship note is cataloged as Pick 831b, while this piece is Pick Unlisted because it survives in an unfinished production-stage format, without serial numbers or final trimming and with oversized margins and printer guide marks.
The Red Ship type was printed by the Shanghai Banknote Printing Plant. Issued notes were completed with a three-character prefix and serial number before trimming and release, while this sheet remains from an earlier stage of the printing process.
Its defining feature is the inverted 1948 100 Yuan Ploughing and Factory impression beneath the later Red Ship face. The visible 1948 date, denomination elements, scroll ornaments, and border structure correspond to the reverse of the earlier 100 Yuan type. Because the earlier impression is rotated 180 degrees, parts of its design remain visible through lighter areas of the later Red Ship printing.
The reverse preserves a separate blue 100-denomination underprint or background layer beneath the Red Ship design. Repeating 100 numerals remain visible throughout the exposed blue field, most prominently below the main reverse design and continuing into both side margins.
Both earlier printed layers extend beyond the boundaries of the later Red Ship impressions. On the face, the 1948 underprint continues below the Red Ship image. On the reverse, the blue 100-denomination layer extends beneath the lower portion of the design, across most of its width, and beyond both side edges. The displaced relationship between these layers records a sheet-position shift during production.
The margin marks provide further evidence of the printing sequence. The face preserves red and orange registration marks corresponding to the Red Ship face colors. The reverse shows red, yellow-brown, and blue marks corresponding to the reverse printing and the exposed blue underlayer.
The sheet brings together an earlier 1948 100 Yuan impression, a blue 100-denomination security layer, later 1949 Red Ship printing, displaced sheet position, registration marks, oversized margins, and a pre-numbering state. Its importance lies in this layered production relationship, preserved on both sides of a single pressroom survivor.
Material of this kind was created for setup, alignment, or other pressroom work rather than circulation and would ordinarily have been destroyed before release. Its survival provides a rare record of how earlier printed material was reused during production of the 1949 Red Ship issue.
