Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Fen
| Issuer | Central Bank of Manchukuo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Printed in blue-grey on cream paper, the obverse is framed by an ornate border incorporating stylized cloud scrollwork and bird vignettes at the lateral margins, with a floral rosette at the upper centre. The bank title 满洲中央銀行 appears in vertical Chinese characters in the upper field, flanked by the block numeral '2' in red at both left and right. A large central guilloche cartouche carries the denomination characters 五分 in bold relief, and a red seal impression is applied to the lower right quadrant. A printer's imprint runs along the lower border in small Chinese characters. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in terracotta-orange on cream paper, the reverse carries a central vignette of a tall monument or tower rising above a landscaped setting, rendered within a lightly ruled guilloche underprint. The composition is enclosed by an elaborate scrollwork border with cloud and floral motifs, with a quatrefoil ornament at the upper centre. The denomination 五分 is repeated in Chinese characters within decorative cartouches on both lateral margins. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Manchukuo's monetary system was functionally an instrument of Japanese wartime policy — the Central Bank of Manchukuo operated under direct oversight from Tokyo, and by 1945 the puppet state's finances were in acute disorder. This 5 Fen note was issued in the war's final months, when Japan's position in Manchuria was collapsing and hyperinflationary pressure had rendered low-denomination fractional notes nearly worthless in practice.
Soviet forces swept through Manchuria in August 1945, and the Central Bank ceased operations almost immediately. Notes dated to this final year were often abandoned in bulk, which is why unissued examples surface with some regularity despite the institution's abrupt end.