2 Jiao – Kwangtung Province

In 1928, Kwangtung (Guangdong) Province was caught in a complex and chaotic multi-currency environment, a legacy of the late Qing dynasty and the warlord era. The national currency, the silver yuan issued by the Central Bank of China in Nanking, had limited circulation and authority in the south. Instead, the province's financial system was dominated by the Guangdong Provincial Bank, which issued its own paper notes, the Guangdong yinpiao (銀票). These notes were theoretically backed by silver reserves but were often over-issued to fund the military and administrative expenditures of the provincial regime, leading to frequent depreciation and public distrust.

This instability was compounded by the widespread use of physical silver in various forms, including foreign-minted silver dollars (notably Mexican "Eagle" dollars and British trade dollars), Chinese silver yuan from other mints, and sycee (silver ingots). The value of these coins fluctuated daily based on weight and purity, creating a cumbersome and inefficient system for trade. Furthermore, Hong Kong dollars circulated heavily, especially in the Pearl River Delta, due to extensive commercial links with the British colony, acting as a more stable alternative and undermining the sovereignty of Chinese currency.

The situation reflected the political fragmentation of the period. While the Kuomintang's Nationalist Government had nominally reunified China in 1928, its control over Kwangtung remained tenuous, with local militarists and political factions exerting significant autonomy. Consequently, attempts at national monetary unification had little immediate effect. The province's currency chaos stifled economic development, facilitated speculation, and burdened merchants and peasants alike, who bore the risk of sudden devaluations. It was a tangible manifestation of the broader struggle between central authority and regional power that would persist for years.