5 Yuan Bank of Central China

The Bank of Central China was a collaborationist institution established under Japanese occupation, issuing currency designed to displace existing Nationalist money in the occupied territories of central China. This 1945 note was printed during the final year of the Pacific War, when Japanese control of the region was already deteriorating — making late-dated issues like this one short-lived in practical circulation.

Pick S3364 falls within a series notorious for wide variation in printer quality and paper stock, a direct consequence of wartime supply constraints. Notes from this issuer were demonetized swiftly after Japan's surrender in August 1945, which means genuinely circulated survivors are less common than the series' original print volumes might suggest.