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5 Yuan
| Issuer | Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1863-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in blue on a cream ground, with an intricate guilloche border and corner ornaments bearing the numeral 5. A central vignette enclosed in an oval frame presents a view of the Dai Temple (Daimiao) in Shantung, flanked by dense guilloche underprint work. Chinese and English bank inscriptions appear in the upper and lower panels, with the denomination rendered in both Chinese characters and Western numerals. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 伍 行銀國中 伍 Hong Kong 圓伍 Government 壹 $1. 圓 伍 香港政府 伍 印年十三國民華中 司公限有舘言印務商 (Translation: Five Bank of China Five Hong Kong Five Yuan Government One $1. Yuan Five Hong Kong Government Five The Commercial Press LTD) |
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| Comments |
The Bank of China's 1941 issues were produced under extreme duress. By mid-1941, Japanese forces controlled significant portions of eastern China, and The Commercial Press — Shanghai's dominant printing house since 1897 — was operating in occupied territory. The Press had already been devastated by Japanese bombing in 1932, and its continued operation under occupation meant these notes were produced under Japanese surveillance, adding a layer of political complexity to an otherwise routine printing contract.
Wartime paper shortages affected quality consistency across the series. Notes from this period frequently show variation in ink density and paper weight even within the same print run.