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5 Dollars - The National Bank of China Limited
| Issuer | National Bank of China Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1894 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The central vignette presents a coat of arms supported by two dragons, set within an elaborate guilloche underprint in red and green tones. The denomination $5 appears twice in the lower portion flanking the central arms, with the issuer name 'THE NATIONAL BANK OF CHINA LIMITED' inscribed in bold letterpress below, accompanied by the bearer clause 'Promises to pay the Bearer on demand at its office here Five Dollars local currency value received.' Chinese characters run vertically along both lateral borders and across the top margin, with serial number repeated twice beneath the upper guilloche panel. |
|---|---|
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| Variants | P#247a - printed date: 02.05.1894 P#247b - partially printed date 189x 2 handwritten |
| Comments |
The National Bank of China Limited was a British overseas bank incorporated in London in 1891, operating branches across China and the treaty ports. It struggled almost from the start — undercapitalized, competing against the well-established Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and unable to secure sufficient Chinese government business. The bank collapsed in 1911, making surviving notes from any branch rare simply because the institution itself had so short a life.
Waterlow & Sons produced the plates in London, typical practice for British colonial and overseas banking issues of the period. The 1894 date places this note in the bank's earliest active years, before its finances became visibly precarious.