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5 Dollars
| Issuer | Hong Kong Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | An unissued Central Reserve Bank of China 1000 Yuan note pressed into service as Hong Kong Government military currency by means of two bold red letterpress overprints: 'HONG KONG GOVERNMENT' across the upper field and 'FIVE DOLLARS' across the lower field. The underlying Chinese note retains its central uniformed portrait bust set within an ornate guilloche frame, flanked by the denomination characters 壹仟圓 and the bank title 中央儲備銀行. Serial prefix 'ATQ' appears twice in the upper portion of the face. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse preserves the original Central Reserve Bank of China design, printed in blue-grey intaglio, with a central architectural vignette of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing enclosed within an elaborate guilloche border. The numeral '1000' appears in all four corners against a background of floral and geometric underprint ornaments, with 'THE CENTRAL RESERVE BANK OF CHINA' at the top, 'ONE THOUSAND YUAN' at the bottom, the date '1944' at foot, and two facsimile signature blocks designated for the Governor and Vice Governor. |
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| Comments |
The Hong Kong Government's wartime dollar notes are a study in administrative stubbornness. Japan had occupied Hong Kong since December 1941, and the colonial government-in-exile continued issuing currency — partly to maintain a legal claim to monetary authority, partly for eventual use in reoccupation. These 1944 notes were printed well before liberation and stockpiled for deployment after the surrender.
Pick 319 belongs to a series that saw heavy use during the chaotic weeks following Japan's capitulation in August 1945, when the military administration scrambled to restore economic order before civilian government returned. The Japanese-issued military yen had to be demonetized rapidly, and these pre-printed notes were central to that process.
The printer was Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. of New Malden, Surrey.