10 Cents Provincial Bank of Chihli

The Provincial Bank of Chihli was one of several provincially chartered Chinese banks operating in the warlord period, when central monetary authority had effectively collapsed and regional military governors controlled their own note-issuing institutions. This 10 Cent note dates to Republican Year 15, issued during the administration of a bank whose reliability was entirely contingent on the political fortunes of the Zhili clique — a clique that had already suffered decisive military defeat at the hands of the Fengtian and Nationalist forces by the time this note was printed.

Small-denomination fractional notes from this institution are disproportionately scarce, having circulated hard in local markets where larger denominations were impractical.