Odd Japanese Occupational Notes

[dw171]

I have a sign in my shop that says I buy foreign coins. A guy comes in with these and wants to know if I'd want to buy them. He said hes got about 30 of them. I don't normally work with foreign paper, so I can't tell if they're genuine. I told him to come in next week with them. I couldn't find anything on fake ones. My concerns are the paper doesn't feel right and the coloring doesn't look right. Like on the 100 the color is faded, but its a crisp bill. The 1000 looks like there's a fold in the middle, but its just how it was printed. Is there anything I should look for next time to check for authenticity? Thanks

 

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[Mackaydon]

Japanese Government notes in dollars were used in Malaysia versus notes in pesos (The Philippines), rupees(Burma), guldens (Netherlands Indies); and pounds (Oceania). The notes were poorly printed. The ink was quite bad, and usually diluted at a time when supplies were in short supply, and the paper was quite thin and waxy.
Don.....

 

[dw171]

Thanks. I had read that they were made poorly because they were trying to print them as fast as possible. Just didn't know they would have been that bad.

 

[BigWaveDave]

I am not any expert on them...but I know I got a few, and I never considered them to be worth anything.

 

[bigcaddy64]

Those notes are very common, especially in uncirculated condition. I picked up about 15 of those at an antique shop in big bear a few months ago for about 10.00

The are all Malay occupational notes. Japan came in the the small island nations, sucked up the resources, looted the banks and then issued occupational currency for the inhabitants via the govt. this was all part of the "co-prosperity sphere" they were so fond of.

It was called Mickey Mouse money because everybody knew it was worthless, especially after the Japanese were sent packing. Some notes are very rare but this stuff was printed by the truckload.

I bought some notes just to have them in my collection and didn't really care about value. It's more of a historical thing for me.

 

[jeff of pa]

yep what everyone else Said.

I used to buy them in packs of a hundred at a time for $10 - $15 .
Japanese & German

what I liked most about them was the artwork.
as with everything else prices have probably risen.
but mainly on the dealers sell price end of the deal.