5 Yuan Bank of Central China

The Bank of Central China was a regional puppet institution established under Japanese occupation to manage currency in the Yangtze valley territories. By 1945, the military situation had deteriorated sharply for Japan, and notes issued that year circulated in conditions of rapid inflation and administrative collapse — many were printed and distributed in haste as the occupation apparatus began to unravel.

Self-printed issues from occupation-era regional banks are frequently found with uneven ink distribution and inconsistent paper quality, both products of wartime supply constraints rather than negligence. The P#S3365 designation places this within the "S" — Special — prefix in the Pick system, reflecting its provisional regional status rather than central government issuance.