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50 Cents
| Issuer | Suchow, City of (Municipal Currency Bureau) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1933 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 蘇江 徐州市平官錢局 伍角 積成國幣 兌現拾角 蘇國 中華民國二十二年 |
| Reverse description | Green and olive-toned note with a dense guilloche underprint covering the entire field, enclosed within a scalloped decorative border. The upper portion carries an English-language legend identifying the issuing authority, with the clause TWO 50 CENTS TO BE EXCHANGED ONE DOLLAR printed across the centre. The large numeral 50 and the inscription FIFTY CENTS appear in the mid-section, below which two manuscript signatures are present for Governor and Manager respectively. The serial number and year 1933 are printed in red at the foot of the note. |
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| Comments |
The Municipal Currency Bureau at Suchow (Suzhou) was one of dozens of local Chinese authorities issuing fractional notes during the early Republic period, filling a chronic small-change vacuum that the national banking system consistently failed to address. These municipal scrip issues were strictly local instruments — theoretically redeemable within the issuing jurisdiction but in practice often refused or discounted even a short distance from town.
The Commercial Press in Shanghai was the dominant domestic printer for such regional notes, handling an enormous volume of work across many issuers simultaneously. That shared production pipeline is why so many municipal issues from this period look institutionally similar despite originating from entirely different authorities.