High Denomination Notes Bring High Demand

Sometimes, a huge denomination note generates huge demand.

A Chinese Sinkiang Provincial Bank 6,000,000,000 Yuan = 10,000 Gold Yuan Pick S1797 PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ, the largest known denomination for any Chinese bank note, drew the largest result ever when it more than doubled its pre-auction estimate, ending at $78,000. Few examples of this high denomination from the 1949 Gold Yuan issue exist due to the combination of the purchasing power of this note at the time and the short lifespan of the bank, and even with that limited available, this example stands out, as one of just two registered in Uncirculated condition in the PMG Population Report.

The magnificent 6 billion Yuan bank note was one of many that established enjoyed record results, a list that included many of the notes that brought in the top results.

“Inflationary currency is of great interest to collectors because of the staggeringly large denominations used to keep these economies moving,” said Dustin Johnston, Vice President of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. “Most often, inflationary currency continues to decline in value, the old notes rendered worthless without redemption status. When rendered useless, the public still holds the notes in hopes that they are monetized again, or gain value. They stick around a long time. This issue is anything but: few were saved, and only a handful are known to collectors today. It is the rarest and most desirable of all inflationary notes.”

A People’s Bank of China 3 Yuan 1953 Pick 868 S/M#C283-12 PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ, an uncirculated version of this rare and short-lived note also more than doubled its pre-auction estimate when it finished at a record $66,000. The result is befitting of this magnificent note, which is exceptionally difficult to find in such a high grade; its elusiveness is a result, in part, of its introduction as a sign of friendship between China and the Soviet Union. The plates were manufactured in the Soviet Union; due to the Sino-Soviet Split, the design was not renewed, which only increase its collectability.

A pair of Straits Settlements notes — a Government of the Straits Settlements 100 Dollars 1.2.1901 Pick 4C PMG Choice Fine 15 and a Government of the Straits Settlements 50 Dollars 1.2.1901 Pick 4A KNB8 PMG Very Fine 20 — also established new records when they brought matching $66,000 results. The notes were two of eight Straits Settlements lots in the auction, a group that likely is the finest selection ever offered at auction from the group of British territories located in Southeast Asia, on and around the Malay Peninsula, that was established in 1826 and eventually dissolved in 1946.

The single finest graded example of a China Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, Peking 100 Dollars 1.7.1914 Pick S277r S/M#T101-24 Remainder PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ (30L) in the PMG Population Report brought nearly twice its pre-auction estimate when it sold for $55,200. The Deutsch-Asiatische Bank was the first large non-British bank to operate in China, and in 1906 was granted permission to issue banknotes, which led to a variety of denominations that were printed and issued over the next decade via branches in Hankow, Peking, Shanghai and Tientsin, as well as in Kiau Chau.

Yet another record fell when the only known Remainder example graded in the PMG Population Report of a China Netherlands Trading Society 5 Dollars 1.1.1909 Pick S458r S/M#S51-2 Remainder PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ reached $33,600. With its roots in a 19th-century Dutch venture in Hong Kong, the Netherlands Trading Society only issued banknotes in two series: 1909 and 1922. Issuance was small, making issued banknotes, Specimen and Remainders very rare. It is fully printed, with a date and serial numbers, but it was never signed and issued.

Other top lots in the HKINF World Paper Money Signature® Auction included, but were not limited to:

• A China Netherlands Trading Society, Shanghai 50 Dollars 1.1.1922 Pick S460s S/M#S51 Specimen PMG Choice Uncirculated 64: $21,600

• A China Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, Chefoo 5 Dollars 1.9.1922 Pick S316a S/M#Y13 PMG Choice About Unc 58 EPQ: $21,600

• A Straits Settlements Government of the Straits Settlements 100 Dollars 1.2.1901 Pick 4Cx Contemporary Counterfeit PMG Choice Fine 15: $19,200

• A Hong Kong Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. 100 Dollars 1.1.1901 Pick 153s KNB41S Specimen PMG Choice Uncirculated 64: $19,200

• A rarely seen Great Britain Bank of England Treasury Bill 10 Million Pounds 8.9.2003 Pick Unlisted PMG Choice Uncirculated 64: $18,600