Manchukuo's Central Bank was established in June 1932, just months after the Japanese Kwantung Army installed Puyi as head of the puppet state. This 100 Yuan was among the first high-denomination issues, printed in Tokyo rather than locally — there was no domestic printing infrastructure capable of producing secure currency at the time. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing had been supplying Japan's own national notes for decades, and the same production apparatus was simply redirected to service the new regime's monetary needs.
High-denomination notes from the 1932–33 Manchukuo series are disproportionately scarce in circulated grades. The 100 Yuan was largely a commercial and institutional instrument; ordinary wage earners rarely handled one.
Manchukuo's Central Bank was established in June 1932, just months after the Japanese Kwantung Army installed Puyi as head of the puppet state. This 100 Yuan was among the first high-denomination issues, printed in Tokyo rather than locally — there was no domestic printing infrastructure capable of producing secure currency at the time. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing had been supplying Japan's own national notes for decades, and the same production apparatus was simply redirected to service the new regime's monetary needs.
High-denomination notes from the 1932–33 Manchukuo series are disproportionately scarce in circulated grades. The 100 Yuan was largely a commercial and institutional instrument; ordinary wage earners rarely handled one.