The Fengtien Public Exchange Bank was a provincial institution operating under the financial apparatus of Zhang Zuolin's Manchurian administration, issuing copper-denominated notes to address chronic small-change shortages that plagued everyday commerce in the Northeast. Copper cash notes of this type circulated alongside a chaotic mix of provincial, military, and foreign-issued currency — the Manchurian monetary environment of the 1920s was fragmented almost beyond description.
Pick S1377 falls within the "S" series — semi-official and provincial issues — which itself signals how loosely organized this emission was relative to central banking standards of the period.
The Fengtien Public Exchange Bank was a provincial institution operating under the financial apparatus of Zhang Zuolin's Manchurian administration, issuing copper-denominated notes to address chronic small-change shortages that plagued everyday commerce in the Northeast. Copper cash notes of this type circulated alongside a chaotic mix of provincial, military, and foreign-issued currency — the Manchurian monetary environment of the 1920s was fragmented almost beyond description.
Pick S1377 falls within the "S" series — semi-official and provincial issues — which itself signals how loosely organized this emission was relative to central banking standards of the period.