Author| Liang Jian "Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Beijing Banknote Printing Co., Ltd."
Source| Financial Expo Fortune
Seals in China have a history of thousands of years, is a unique cultural product of our country, generally used in calligraphy and painting works, mainly reflects the author's responsibility for words and paintings. People know a lot about this. However, for the stamps on banknotes, fewer people pay attention.
As we all know, paper money is just a monetary symbol and has no value in itself, and the seal represents the credit certificate of the issuing agency. Since the birth of paper money in the Song Dynasty, seals have been widely used on paper money and have become the necessary design elements on paper money.
Seal from the Republic of China to the founding of New China
In the long process of paper money development, the design theme, design style and design style of the seal have kept pace with the times and gradually formed their own characteristics. This is particularly evident in the banknotes of the period from the Republic of China to the founding of New China. During this period, the seals on various types of banknotes took different forms.
●Seal form
First, the past seal form is continued, and only one seal is printed. For example, in 1939, the Bank of Xikang issued a one-dollar note with a positive view of the Potala Palace, which only has a stamp on the lower left side of the front (see Figure 1).
Second, the corresponding position of the banknote is in the form of a signature of an "important person". For example, the five-dollar bill issued by the central bank in 1923 has two English signatures under the banknote. Interestingly, under the head of Sun Yat-sen, there are also engraved six large characters of "Grand Marshal Sun's Reward", which is obviously of a commemorative nature (see Figure 2).
Third, there is a situation in which two forms of traditional seal and signature coexist on a banknote. For example, in 1923, the "Current Ocean Exchange Coupon Ten Yuan" issued by the Jilin YonghengGuan Silver Coin, the front center of which is pressed with the main scene pattern (Beijing Summer Palace Scenery) is a large red seal with the words "Supervisor's Seal", and two English signatures are left on the left and right positions under the banknote.
Fourth, some banknotes have neither a seal nor a signature on them. For example, the half-dollar bills issued by the Xikang Provincial Bank in 1933 and the five-dollar bills issued in 1939 have neither a seal nor a signature on them, but both banknotes were approved by the Ministry of Finance of the National Government.
● Where to print
In the banknotes of the Republic of China period, the seals were generally printed on the lower left and right ends of the front of the banknote, but there were exceptions, such as two seals squeezed together. In 1938, the one-dollar coupon issued by the Guangxi Peasant Bank with the front feature of "Shennong Taste Hundred Herbs" was set up side by side in the lower middle of the banknote, rather than the customary printing of one at the left and right ends. This situation is rare on banknotes during the Republic of China period (see Figure 3).
● Stamps on vertical banknotes
As we all know, the layout of paper money is generally divided into horizontal design and vertical design, which is mostly seen in horizontal design, but some paper money also adopts vertical design, which appeared more in the late Republic of China. There are generally two forms of expression for the seal of the vertical design banknote: one is two seals and lists the current middle position, and the other is two seals and lists the current bottom position, but no matter where it appears, the two seals are juxtaposed together, which is more comfortable to evaluate from the perspective of art appreciation. For example, in 1947, the customs gold coupons issued by the central bank (full name customs gold unit exchange coupons, referring to a currency used exclusively by the Kuomintang government for import tariffs) were five hundred yuan, and two seals were set at the bottom of the banknote, while the customs gold coupons issued by the central bank in 1948 were 250,000 yuan, and the two seals were set in the middle of the banknotes.
The seal on the renminbi
To understand the changes of seals, experience the charm of seals, and explore the role of seals in the circulation of paper money, the closest thing to us is the renminbi, which is known as a national business card. It basically covers the many characteristics of the seal and carries on the traditions of the past, with changes and innovations.
● The first set of RMB
The first set of renminbi was born during the Liberation War. On December 1, 1948, the day of the establishment of the Chinese Bank, China issued the first set of renminbi, which were 10 yuan, 20 yuan and 50 yuan respectively. We all know that at the beginning of the establishment of Chinese Min Bank, the leadership position of the bank was not called the president, but the general manager, which was held by Nan Hanchen, and the deputy general managers were Hu Jinghu and Guan Xuewen, so the right side of the lower front of the banknote was "General Manager Chapter" and the left side was "Deputy Manager Chapter", which was consistent with people's reading habits from right to left. The stamp measures 8 mm, is square, and is printed on the front of the banknote in red.
On October 1, 1949, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the leadership position of the head office of Chinese Min Bank was changed from general manager to president. Therefore, the seal on the renminbi designed and printed in late 1949 was also changed, with the "Chapter of the President" on the right and the "Vice President's Seal" on the left, and the size, shape and color of the seal were the same as before.
● The second set of RMB
On March 1, 1955, China issued a second set of renminbi. In the design, according to the instructions of the Central Finance Commission "the president's signature is changed to a seal", the position and size of the seal have been adjusted, except for the one-point, two-cent, and five-point auxiliary coins, the seals on the other banknotes are still printed on the front of the banknote, the size of the seal specifications is reduced to 6 mm, and the position arrangement of the two seals is also adjusted. There's another little story.
After the second set of renminbi design drafts was reviewed by the leading comrades of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, Premier Zhou Enlai conveyed Chairman Mao Zedong's instructions: The text of the "Chinese Bank" on the design draft should be changed from the original right-to-left arrangement to left-to-right, so the positions of the two seals of "Governor's Chapter" and "Vice President's Chapter" were also replaced. The "Governor's Chapter" is set on the left, and the "Vice-President's Chapter" is set on the right. During this period, the five thousand yuan banknotes in the first set of renminbi that are being designed at the end of the design (the main design is the Weihe Bridge) have also been adjusted. In the second to fifth sets of RMB designs in the future, although the details have been adjusted from time to time, the basic reading rules have never changed. This 5,000 yuan "Weihe Bridge" banknote became the only banknote in the first set of renminbi with row name arrangement and seal arrangement from left to right (see Figure 4).
●The third set of RMB
On April 20, 1962, China issued a third set of renminbi. This set of RENMINBI is completely dependent on our own strength to complete the issuance, which fully embodies the spirit of independence and self-reliance. On the third set of renminbi, the seals of one dime, two corners and five corners are printed on the front of the banknotes with a specification size of 5 mm; the seals of one yuan, two yuan, five yuan and ten yuan are printed on the back of the banknotes, with a specification size of 6 mm and a color of red.
Many people wonder why the main coin seal is placed on the back of the banknote, while the seal of the auxiliary coin is placed on the front of the banknote? In fact, the reason is very simple, mainly the printing process has been reformed, which is more in line with the needs of process technology. Specifically, the seals of the first two sets of renminbi, including the third set of renminbi auxiliary coins, are printed together with the crown and number of the banknote, which is technically called letterpress printing. The seal of the main coin was changed to gravure printing (technically improved), and the national emblem pattern was made on the same plate, and it was printed on the machine at the same time, so the seal was naturally placed on the back of the banknote with the national emblem pattern. This is the first time that the seal on the renminbi has appeared on the back of the banknote.
● The fourth set of RMB
On April 27, 1987, China issued the fourth set of renminbi. This set of renminbi was born in the period of reform and opening up, and has made great innovations and breakthroughs in theme content, design style and printing process. At the same time, there are some new changes in the setting of the stamp of this set of renminbi: all the seals are printed on the back of the banknote. The reason for this is also due to the needs of process technology, which is a pure technical consideration.
It is worth noting that from the fourth set of renminbi, the seal broke the traditional practice of printing in red in the past. The seal production has been improved in the plate making process, and the seal is made on the banknote pattern printing plate, and the color of the seal is determined by the main color of the banknote. In other words, if the paper money is primarily green, then the color of the stamp is also green (see Figure 5).
● The fifth set of RMB
On October 1, 1999, China issued the fifth set of renminbi. This set of renminbi was born at the end of the twentieth century and is a true set of trans-century currencies. The stamps of this set of renminbi are printed on the back of the banknotes. The setting of the seal has changed significantly, from the original two seals to one seal, that is, the "Seal of the President" is retained and the "Vice President's Seal" is removed. The printing process is the same as the fourth set of renminbi, and the size of the seal specification is unified at 5.5 mm.
The small seal has insight into history and explored the world, enabling us to understand more about the past, present and future of paper money, and understand the development and changes of the renminbi. It is believed that in today's coexistence of digital currency and physical currency, small seals can still perform their functions, play their due role, and show a stronger artistic charm.