Updated June 10 2020
The De La Rue Remainders
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The "remainder" examples below (missing one or more of either their serial numbers, seals or signatures) are a puzzle. Comparatively scarce, at least in comparison to the conventional issues - in particular the 1937 10 Yuan of the Bank of China - most collectors and others will encounter one or two of these over time.
The mystery is that unlike more usual remainder banknotes, these are frequently found circulated - often heavily so. Normally a remainder is a note left incomplete because the printing or circulation of that note has been cancelled, and stocks are often retained by the printer or the issuing bank. Usually, aside from any storage damage, surviving examples should be found uncirculated. But not in the case of these notes.
Further, the notes in question are all Nationalist (KMT) government bank issues printed by De La Rue, dated 1935-1937. However, despite the date printed on the notes it is likely that they were in some cases printed, and certainly placed into circulation later. For example, the 1 and 5 Yuan of the Bank of Communications (1935) carries a signature combination for bank officials who weren't in office together until 1940-1941.
At the moment there are more questions than concrete answers but presumably the answer is here somewhere:
Is there a connection with the 1940 bombing of the De La Rue factory in Bunhill Row? Are these mistakes that were shipped out to China along with the completed notes? Or were serial numbers and seals added in China, but these were left unfinished because of war difficulties: it does seem that the signatures of some overseas printed notes were added in China?
Were some of these notes actually printed in China by a sub-contractor; there are vague but uncertain clues that this did occur. One Chinese source blogging on the history of the Hong Kong Printing Press has suggested that the HKPP printed some banknotes on behalf of the American Banknote Company, an idea based on archival letters. And in any case, were these banknotes captured or stolen: put unofficially into circulation during the war by the occupying Japanese, or by criminals? The Japanese do seem the most likely culprits as they captured many banking and printing facilities in Hong Kong, Shanghai and elsewhere, flooding the Chinese economy with seized currency to undermine the KMT government - and later enforcing the withdrawal and replacement with their own 'puppet bank' issues. The Japanese also widely forged Nationalist Chinese notes including these specific types at their Norborito Army Laboratory.
We may never know for certain what the story is here.
A more certain example of Chinese remaindered notes being placed into circulation is that of the 1913 1 Yuan of the Bank of China (see the article here). This note is labelled as the 'no placename' variety in the SCWPM though it does carry the Chinese branch-name for Shantung (Shandong) on the front, but not in English on the back. In addition, this note lacks the usual red seals and instead carries a pair of signatures on the front in place of them. What all of this demonstrates is that these were unfinished remainder notes without seals or signatures, that were later issued 'completed' with signatures of c.1936 and a Chinese placename. Again, the exact details are unknown but it is likely that the notes were from unissued stock stored by the main Bank of China branch in Shantung, and put into emergency circulation when the outbreak of war caused a shortage of new notes.
The mystery is that unlike more usual remainder banknotes, these are frequently found circulated - often heavily so. Normally a remainder is a note left incomplete because the printing or circulation of that note has been cancelled, and stocks are often retained by the printer or the issuing bank. Usually, aside from any storage damage, surviving examples should be found uncirculated. But not in the case of these notes.
Further, the notes in question are all Nationalist (KMT) government bank issues printed by De La Rue, dated 1935-1937. However, despite the date printed on the notes it is likely that they were in some cases printed, and certainly placed into circulation later. For example, the 1 and 5 Yuan of the Bank of Communications (1935) carries a signature combination for bank officials who weren't in office together until 1940-1941.
At the moment there are more questions than concrete answers but presumably the answer is here somewhere:
Is there a connection with the 1940 bombing of the De La Rue factory in Bunhill Row? Are these mistakes that were shipped out to China along with the completed notes? Or were serial numbers and seals added in China, but these were left unfinished because of war difficulties: it does seem that the signatures of some overseas printed notes were added in China?
Were some of these notes actually printed in China by a sub-contractor; there are vague but uncertain clues that this did occur. One Chinese source blogging on the history of the Hong Kong Printing Press has suggested that the HKPP printed some banknotes on behalf of the American Banknote Company, an idea based on archival letters. And in any case, were these banknotes captured or stolen: put unofficially into circulation during the war by the occupying Japanese, or by criminals? The Japanese do seem the most likely culprits as they captured many banking and printing facilities in Hong Kong, Shanghai and elsewhere, flooding the Chinese economy with seized currency to undermine the KMT government - and later enforcing the withdrawal and replacement with their own 'puppet bank' issues. The Japanese also widely forged Nationalist Chinese notes including these specific types at their Norborito Army Laboratory.
We may never know for certain what the story is here.
A more certain example of Chinese remaindered notes being placed into circulation is that of the 1913 1 Yuan of the Bank of China (see the article here). This note is labelled as the 'no placename' variety in the SCWPM though it does carry the Chinese branch-name for Shantung (Shandong) on the front, but not in English on the back. In addition, this note lacks the usual red seals and instead carries a pair of signatures on the front in place of them. What all of this demonstrates is that these were unfinished remainder notes without seals or signatures, that were later issued 'completed' with signatures of c.1936 and a Chinese placename. Again, the exact details are unknown but it is likely that the notes were from unissued stock stored by the main Bank of China branch in Shantung, and put into emergency circulation when the outbreak of war caused a shortage of new notes.
Remainders of the Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and the Central Bank of China
Bank of China 10 Yuan of 1937 - a less common example of a remainder note. Heavily circulated. The serial numbers are absent and the note appears to have been very hurriedly cut from the the larger sheet. All issued versions of this note lack the usual (normally red) seals.
Central Bank of China 10 Yuan of 1936 - a slightly more common remainder. The note was circulated without the red seals on the front or the signatures on the back.
The Bank of Communications 5 Yuan of 1935 - (SCWPM 154) one of the more common of the remainders, and even catalogued in the SCWPM. The red seals are missing. Most examples show clear signs of circulation.
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Central Bank of China 5 Yuan of 1936 - a less common remainder. Clearly heavily circulated (and the 'victim' of harsh cleaning by a dealer). The note was issued without the red seals on the front or the signatures on the back.
The Bank of Communications 1 Yuan of 1935 - a scarcer remainder. From this particular example it is unclear whether it's appearance is due to storage damage or a period of circulation (or both).
The Bank of Communications 10 Yuan of 1935 - (SCWPM 155) an unusual example of (unlike the 5 yuan) a rarely encountered remainder. This of course lacks the seals and serials. Usually when badly cropped notes like this appear, it seems that such has been done recently, however this is badly frayed on one side and shows signs of wear on all sides indicating that this was done long ago. The note as with many other more common types seems to have been circulated.
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