5 Fen Pattern, 2nd series, nickel

This is a pattern strike, never approved for circulation — the Republic of China's 2nd series coinage reforms of the late 1930s were overtaken by events almost immediately. Full-scale Japanese invasion began in July 1937, and the Central Mint evacuated from Shanghai to Chungking within months, abandoning most production tooling. Pattern pieces from this period survived largely because they never entered the distribution pipeline at all.