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100 Dollars 'Banana Money' Japanese Government
| Issuer | Japanese Government (Military Administration) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | 7 September 1945 |
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| Obverse description | Printed in purple-brown on a pale ground, the obverse centres on a vignette of palm trees and traditional Malay stilt houses beside a riverbank, set within an elaborate guilloche border. The denomination numeral '100' occupies all four corners within ornate frames, with block letter prefix 'MT' at lower left and right. The Japanese inscription 大日本帝國政府 appears within a decorative cartouche at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 100 |
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| Comments |
The informal name "banana money" came from Malayan civilians who noticed the banana tree motif on the Japanese occupation issues and applied it broadly across the series. By 1944, the Japanese military administration had abandoned any pretense of backing these notes with reserves — they were printed in quantity specifically to extract goods and labor from occupied Malaya, effectively transferring real wealth to the occupying forces through inflation.
The M8 100-dollar denomination was the highest in the series and the most heavily overprinted. By the time of the Japanese surrender in August 1945, hyperinflation had rendered the entire issue worthless almost overnight. The British Military Administration's refusal to honor the notes left Malayan holders with nothing.