The Continental Banknote Company was a New York firm that printed for several Chinese issuing authorities during the late 1930s and early 1940s, when established security printers in Europe were increasingly unavailable due to the war. By 1941, much of eastern China was under Japanese occupation, and Bank of China operations had relocated or fragmented significantly — notes like this one were issued under conditions of severe institutional disruption rather than routine monetary administration.
Pick 90 is not a rare note in circulated grades, but higher-quality survivors are less common than the print run might suggest, partly because wartime hoarding and physical deterioration took a heavy toll on small-denomination paper.
The Continental Banknote Company was a New York firm that printed for several Chinese issuing authorities during the late 1930s and early 1940s, when established security printers in Europe were increasingly unavailable due to the war. By 1941, much of eastern China was under Japanese occupation, and Bank of China operations had relocated or fragmented significantly — notes like this one were issued under conditions of severe institutional disruption rather than routine monetary administration.
Pick 90 is not a rare note in circulated grades, but higher-quality survivors are less common than the print run might suggest, partly because wartime hoarding and physical deterioration took a heavy toll on small-denomination paper.