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1 Yuan Bank of Central China
| Issuer | Bank of Central China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Green-grey letterpress print on light paper. The central vignette, framed by a scalloped cartouche with floral guilloche ornaments, depicts a seascape with sailing junks at left and a steamship at right under a cloudy sky. Chinese characters reading 華中銀行 (Bank of Central China) appear at top, with the denomination 壹圓 at centre; two red seal stamps are affixed at lower left and lower right, and the serial number is printed in red at upper left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Brown letterpress print. The centre carries a large arabesque guilloche underprint surrounding the numeral 1, flanked on each side by tall ornamental panels of interlocking guilloche work. The bank name THE BANK OF CENTRAL CHINA arches across the top in a banner, and ONE YUAN and the date 1945 are inscribed at the foot; a handwritten signature appears to the right of centre. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Central China was a Japanese-sponsored institution established in 1938 to manage currency in the occupied central Chinese territories. By 1945, the bank's notes were circulating in an economy under severe strain — Allied advances had disrupted supply chains and Japanese military expenditure had pushed inflation well beyond any figure the official exchange rates acknowledged.
Pick S3361 falls into the "S" series, catalogued as a regional or provisional issue rather than a central government emission. Whether this note saw meaningful civilian circulation in its final months before Japan's surrender in August 1945, or was largely rendered worthless before it could, is a question the survival rate doesn't cleanly answer.