10 Dollars Chan Tung Cheng Bank

The Chan Tung Cheng Bank was one of numerous small regional Chinese private banks operating in the 1930s, many of which issued notes backed more by reputation than by formal reserve requirements. The Hongkong Printing Press handled a significant volume of work for these institutions — its involvement here signals a note produced to a commercial rather than a government standard, which was entirely normal for privately chartered banks of this type operating out of or connected to Hong Kong.

The watermark is the only security feature recorded for this issue, a thin line of protection for a denomination that would have represented a meaningful sum in 1934 China.