Once, a photo of a "three yuan" banknote on the Internet caused widespread heated discussions. This seemingly rare banknote is actually part of the second set of renminbi in mainland history. So, from a mathematical point of view, why did the unnecessarily 3 yuan denomination appear in the history of the issuance of the renminbi? Today, let's explore the story behind this.
1. The cultural traditions of the Soviet Union and the printing of the renminbi
In 1950, the Continental Government Council began to design a new version of the renminbi. In view of the immaturity of domestic printing technology at that time, the mainland decided to entrust the Soviet Union to print on its behalf. In the process, the Soviet side made a special request: it wanted China to increase the banknote with a face value of 3 yuan. In order to complete the printing of the new version of the renminbi as soon as possible, the Chinese side agreed to this request and revised it with the original design of the 10 yuan denomination (Jinggangshan), which is what we call the "Su three coins".
In the history and culture of the Soviet Union, the "3" was given a special symbolic meaning. It is regarded as a symbol of perfection, such as the Russian legend that "the earth is carried by three great whales", and the number "3" refers to the "trinity" of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in the monetary system of the USSR, banknotes of 3 rubles were not uncommon. This cultural tradition also influenced the design of the second set of renminbi on the mainland.
2. Chen Yun's suggestions and reducing the risk of counterfeit money
In addition to satisfying the cultural needs of the Soviet Union, Chen Yun, the leader of the mainland at the time, also raised a practical problem: in order to reduce the circulation and loss of counterfeit money. He believes that if the large-denomination banknotes issued are too large, then the amount of counterfeit money airdropped or smuggled by the United States and Chiang Kai-shek and other forces will also increase accordingly. Therefore, he suggested that large bills of more than five yuan should not be issued when the new currency is issued, but it is too small to issue only one dollar bills, so additional three-dollar bills will be issued as an adjustment.
Although Chen Yun's suggestion is reasonable, from the perspective of actual functions, the traditional 2 yuan coupon can actually carry these functions. Therefore, we can say that the main consideration in the issuance of 3 yuan coupons at that time was to meet the requirements of the USSR.
3. Sino-Soviet relations and the abolition of the 3 yuan banknote
However, the good times were short-lived. With the deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations, the Soviet Union began to use the steel plate in its hands to print the so-called "genuine counterfeit banknotes". In order to prevent the Soviet Union from continuing to print counterfeit banknotes, the mainland began to recall 3 yuan, 5 yuan and 10 yuan banknotes in 1964, and prepared to issue a third set of renminbi. At this point, the renminbi, which had a face value of 3 yuan, was abolished after only 9 years in circulation.
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Looking back on this period of history, we can find that the 3 yuan denomination in the history of the renminbi was not due to mathematical necessity, but was influenced by many factors such as domestic and foreign politics, economy and culture at that time. This history not only allows us to better understand the development process of the renminbi, but also makes us cherish the hard-won financial stability and security today.