Time Travel X Banknote NFT Collection

IZBLU Labs presents the "Time Travel X Banknote NFT Project" in collaboration with the BOAX team to bring life to the authentic and very rare Chinese banknotes collection owned by renowned Chinese banknotes collector and expert Mr Norman Lin. All the banknotes have been professionally authenticated by Paper Money Guaranty (PMG), which is the world's largest and most trusted third-party grading service for paper money. Through the beautiful animation of the banknotes, we go back in time to appreciate the beauty of the different eras in Chinese history. For the first series of the project which we limit to 100 editions for each Banknote, we curated the 10 most representative banknotes that represent different eras and which are interesting from an artistic point of view and turn them into animated NFT artworks. Join us to learn about the development of banknotes in ancient and modern China and explore the beauty of art, history and culture.

Issued by: Russo-Chinese Bank

Year: 1907

Face Value: 5 Taels​

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Buyers of each edition will receive a high-res scan of the original Bank Note authenticated by Paper Money Guaranty (PMG) with PMG seal, the NFT in HD as well as owning the IP rights of this edition of the NFT.

Issued by: Federal Reserve Bank of China

Year: 1938

Face Value: 100 Yuan

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Peek inside the History of Banks in China

Yuan Dynasty

late 13th – mid 14th Century

During the Yuan Dynasty, major currency reforms occurred, including the newly introduced paper-based notes.​

Ming Dynasty

mid 14th – mid 17th Century

In the early Ming Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty currency system was followed, with paper currency as the main currency in circulation in combination with copper coins.

Qing Dynasty

mid 17th – early 20th Century

Qing Dynasty advocated the policy of parallel banknotes instead of traditional banknotes, using silver for large transactions and using small amounts of money. (In the early years of Shunzhi, the number of people struggling with the Qing dynasty grew. The national reserves of money and food were not enough to cover their expenditures. In addition, the provincial military expenditures were huge. Under circumstances of necessity, the Qing government issued the first national paper currency in the eighth year of Shunzhi, naming it Shunzhi Chaoguan.)

Modern Times

early 20th – mid 20th Century

1. National Banks

Big four banks include:

• Bank of Communications, opened in 1908, headquartered in Beijing;

• The predecessor of the Bank of China was the Bank of the Department of Clearing Accounts established in 1904 and renamed to "Bank of Qing Dynasty". It was reopened and renamed to "Bank of China" in 1912, headquartered in Beijing.​

• ​​Central Bank, opened in 1924, headquartered in Guangzhou.

• China Farmers Bank, opened in 1934, recognising the Farmers Banks of Henan, Hubei, Anhui and Jiangxi.​

2. Provincial Banks

After the failure of the second revolution in 1913, the whole country entered the dark rule of Beiyang warlord, commanded by Yuan Shikai. In order to raise military and administrative expenses, the warlords used provincial and local banks as private treasury and kept printing and issuing banknotes. At that time, the paper currency could be described as a "wide variety".

3. Commercial Banks

During the period of the Republic of China, there were hundreds of commercial banks issuing banknotes. Among them, the China Commercial Bank, Zhejiang Industrial Bank, Siming Bank, Zhongnan Bank, China Industrial Bank, Rural Commercial Bank, China Agricultural and Industrial Bank, and China Reclamation Bank were the largest. They are collectively referred to as the "Big Eight Commercial Banks", and the banknotes issued were the "Big Eight Banknotes."

4. Foreign Banks

After the Opium War (1840), capitalist countries began to set up banks in China. Among them, Liru Bank of Anglo-Indian Capital was the first bank to enter China, opening the door for foreign banks to issue banknotes in China. Before the 19th century, the currency issuance market was almost monopolized by the United Kingdom. By the 20th century, other countries began to open banks and issue paper money in China.

5. Liberated Area Banknotes

Liberated area banknotes refer to various types of currencies issued by the People’s Armed Forces, groups and regimes established under the leadership or influence of the Communist Party before the founding of New China, including the Renminbi issued by the People’s Bank of China from December 1948 to September 1949​.

6. New China (Since 1949)

In the late period of the National War of Liberation, the liberated areas expanded rapidly, and the originally divided areas were also connected together. Therefore, it became an inevitable trend to unify the currencies of the liberated areas. The RenMinBi is the legal tender of the People’s Republic of China. With the development of the economy and in line with people’s lives, five sets of the RMB have been issued so far.​

Click here to view the Collection on Opensea!