50 Yuan Bank of Pei Hai

The Bank of Pei Hai (北海银行) was established in 1938 by the Shandong-based Communist guerrilla administration and functioned as the monetary arm of the Bohai and Shandong liberated zones throughout the Second Sino-Japanese War. By 1945, the bank was issuing currency across a patchwork of territory where Japanese, Nationalist, and Communist authority overlapped and shifted constantly — the notes circulated in conditions where their acceptance depended entirely on which armed force controlled a given county that week.

Printing facilities were dispersed and primitive, moved frequently to avoid Japanese sweeps. Paper quality and impression consistency vary considerably across the 1945 issues as a direct consequence.