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5 Fen / Cents Central Bank of China
| Issuer | Central Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Fen (0.05) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 行銀央中 分伍 年八十二國民華中 司公限有寧永商美 |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in green on light paper and centres on a circular medallion enclosing a stylised archaic spade-coin motif with Chinese characters 伍分, surrounded by a geometric Greek-key border and scrollwork. Flanking the central medallion, two ornate cartouches each bear the English legend FIVE CENTS, with two red seal-script chop stamps below. The issuer's name arches across the top in English, with the denomination numeral 5 in each corner. |
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| Comments |
The Central Bank of China's small-denomination wartime fractional notes were a direct response to the coin shortage that developed after 1937, when Japanese military advances disrupted metal supplies and drew copper and nickel out of circulation. Printing in the United States — Union Publishers & Printers, a Chicago-based firm with a history of Chinese government contracts — kept the work outside Japanese reach entirely.
The bilingual denomination on P#225, reading both "Fen" and "Cents," reflects the dual monetary vocabulary still in official use by the Nationalist government at the time.