People's Republic Of China, 100 Yuan

The Chinese 100 yuan note was first introduced in 1980 and is the highest denomination used in that country. It is currently worth about USD$16.10.

These notes currently come in two series and four issuing years: the first series was dated 1980 or 1990, and the second series was dated 1999 or 2005. The 1999 issues lack the EURion constellation and certain other security features, but besides that they are identical to the 2005 issues. I have bought one note from each series but do not have all four issuing years.



This is one of my favourite world notes because of its nice use of colour and striking design. Here's Chairman Mao and three of his accomplices (Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, and Zhu De). It is from the fourth series of the yuan, and all of the fourth-series notes feature two or more people, but this is the only note from that series to feature real people (rather than generic members of certain classes or ethnic groups). These notes are not very expensive but offer a really interesting look at China's people and ideology.



And here is the newest 100 yuan which I got at an airport currency exchange. In my opinion, the Chairman looks better in profile, this depiction of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing is actually pretty boring, and the colour scheme is garish... but it is still not a really bad-looking note. The lower denominations of the fifth series actually look much nicer because they have beautiful landscapes on them - so I have no idea why they gave up and put an ugly hall on the highest denomination, which should theoretically be the best-designed of them all. However, the security features on this note are much better (with a lateral image, colour-shifting ink, and a shiny holographic ribbon).

I like Chinese notes because they are printed in huge quantities and do not exist in prohibitively high denominations, so if you just want a bunch of colourful and nice-looking paper on a budget then modern China's got you covered.