1 Yuan (Pattern; proposed "Junk dollar"; English strike)

The 1929 Republic of China 1 Yuan pattern coin, often referred to as the 'Junk Dollar' pattern, was produced during a period of intense monetary reform as the Nationalist government sought to standardize the currency. Minted at the Philadelphia Mint as a trial strike, these pieces were part of an effort to create a new national coinage featuring the iconic image of a junk ship under full sail. The design served as a powerful symbol of Chinese sovereignty and maritime ambition, intending to unify a fractured fiscal landscape under a single, trusted design.

The coin features an engraving of Dr. Sun Yat-sen on the obverse and the famous junk ship on the reverse, a design that would eventually become synonymous with the widely circulated standard 1 Yuan coins of the 1930s. Designed by the Italian medalist L. Giorgi and adapted for the proposed series, these pattern strikes were never formally issued into circulation. They remain historically significant as exquisite examples of early 20th-century minting technology and as artifacts of the diplomatic and economic exchanges between the Republic of China and the United States.