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5 Yuan Bank of China
| Issuer | Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Yuan (1912-1948) |
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| Obverse description | Central oval vignette of a traditional Chinese pavilion set among trees, printed in red. The denomination 伍圓 (Five Yuan) appears in large Chinese characters to the left and right of the vignette. Bank name 中國銀行 is inscribed at the top, with branch and issue designations 哈爾濱 (Harbin) and 東三省 (Three Eastern Provinces / Manchuria) along the lower margin. The entire design is surrounded by an ornate red guilloche border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in dark olive-green on a light ground. The English bank name BANK OF CHINA arches across the top within a decorative frame, above a large central guilloche panel bearing the inscription FIVE YUAN in bold serif letters. The place of issue HARBIN MANCHURIA is printed in the lower centre between two manuscript signatures. Corner numerals 5 appear at each corner, and the whole design is enclosed within a fine guilloche border. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of China's 1919 issues occupy an awkward moment in Chinese banking history — the institution had been reorganized just years earlier, in 1912, from the old Qing dynasty's Ta-Ching Government Bank, and was still negotiating its identity between a government policy bank and a commercial one. By 1919, it operated a sprawling network of branches, and notes of this series frequently carry overprints identifying the issuing branch, which directly affects scarcity. A Shanghai-overprinted example is common; some provincial branches issued in quantities so small that survivors are genuinely rare.
The L.H. Chen and K. Feng signature combination helps narrow the dating within the series. Worth confirming whether the specific branch overprint — if present — aligns with known signature pairings, as mismatched combinations can indicate later reissues from old stock.