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1000 Dollars 'Banana Money' Japanese Government
| Issuer | Japanese Government (Military Currency) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| In circulation to | 7 September 1945 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS 大日本帝國政府 |
| Reverse description | The central vignette, set within an oval guilloche surround, presents two water buffalos being led through a shallow river by a figure carrying a yoke, with a dense tropical forest forming the background in finely engraved teal-green intaglio. Flanking the central oval are two large denomination panels each bearing the numeral '1000' within elliptical guilloche frames, all enclosed within an ornate scrollwork and shell-motif border repeated at each corner. The denomination '1000' also appears in the top and bottom margins of the note in small letterpress type. |
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| Comments |
Japan's wartime occupation authorities issued this note as part of the military scrip series imposed across Malaya, Singapore, and Borneo following the February 1942 fall of Singapore. The term "Banana Money" derived from the banana tree motifs that appeared on lower denominations — the nickname stuck across the entire series by association. Crucially, the Japanese military printed these without any backing, serial numbers, or fixed quantity controls, and the resulting inflation was catastrophic. By 1945, a bag of rice could cost thousands of dollars in this currency.
After the surrender, the British colonial administration refused to honor any of it. Overnight redemption became worthless — a deliberate policy partly to punish collaborators who had accumulated large holdings.