2 Yuan Bank of West Shantung, red on green

The Bank of West Shantung was a puppet financial institution established by Japanese occupation authorities in the Jilu Border Region — the zone straddling western Shandong and eastern Hebei provinces — as part of a broader strategy to displace the currency issued by Communist-aligned border region banks. Notes like this one competed directly against the Ji-Lu-Yu Border Region Bank's scrip, and acceptance was enforced rather than voluntary in Japanese-controlled districts.

The "var." suffix on the Pick reference almost certainly reflects a signature or overprint combination not yet fully catalogued — this series is notoriously difficult to attribute cleanly, with multiple issue batches distinguished by minor typographic and color variations that remain poorly documented in Western references.