The obverse of the coin features an automobile driving along a road, flanked by grass arranged to spell out Zhou's personal name, Xicheng (西成; Xīchéng).

The Auto Dollar is a rare and heavily counterfeited type; a certified example graded in mint condition sold for US$336,000 at a 2023 auction.

The introduction of centrally produced silver coinage by the Qing government was delayed due to the uncertain primacy of the tael or dollar (圓; yuán) as a base monetary standard.

The central mint at Tianjin only produced limited quantities of Dragon dollars before the 1911 Revolution, and was destroyed the following year.

A unified national coinage system would not be achieved until 1932–1933, with the opening of the Shanghai Central Mint by the Nationalist government.

[3] Yuan Zuming [zh] served as the military governor of Guizhou province until his death at the hands of Nationalist forces in 1927 for an alleged lack of loyalty.

[8] In large part due to the machinery and technicians provided by the local arsenal, the Guiyang mint was able to produce coinage by 1928.

[7] Although serving to recognize Zhou's reputation for road construction more generally, the coin is thought to memorialize the 1928 completion of a provincial highway in Guizhou.

The obverse features an automobile driving along a road, with grass in the foreground arranged to spell out Xicheng (西成; Xīchéng), his personal name, when the coin is tilted 90 degrees.

[13] The reverse features Chinese text surrounding a central rosette seal associated with Sichuan's republic coinage.

Surrounding the central seal are four characters reading "Guizhou Silver Coin" (Chinese: 貴州銀幣; pinyin: Guìzhōu yínbì).