2 Yuan Central Bank of China

The Central Bank of China's 1941 issues were produced under extraordinary logistical strain — by this point, Japanese forces controlled much of the Chinese coast, and the Nationalist government had retreated inland to Chongqing. Having notes printed in London and shipped through wartime supply lines was a deliberate hedge against the destruction or capture of domestic printing facilities, several of which had already been lost.

De La Rue's involvement was longstanding; the firm had supplied Chinese currency needs intermittently since the early Republic period. The watermark security on P#231 is modest by De La Rue's usual standards, reflecting wartime material constraints at the London works.