The Money of Communist China - Part I
Prior to 1949 the People's Republic of China did not exist as such. In its place, commencing in 1927, was a Communist party which controlled scattered areas throughout China known as "soviets". These bases underwent many changes; first at the hands of victorious Nationalist armies, and after 1937, the Japanese invaders. These early Communists were self sufficient in every way. This included the manufacture and circulation of their own currency - including both coins and paper money. Driven out of their southern soviets by Chang Kai-shek's Nationalist army in 1934, the Communists fled north on their Long March to escape annihilation and to save their cause. There they stayed to fight the Japanese, and after World War II, to engage in all out civil war against the Nationalists for control of all of China.
Part I describes the coins and paper money used by the early soviets from 1927 to 1934, which period ended in the Long March north to Shensi province.
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Japanese Sponsored Coin and Bank Note Issues for the Occupied Regions of China
Occasionally, even today, one will encounter in a dealer's junk box or stock, a coin or piece of paper money whose origins lay in Japan's conquest and occupation of China (1937-1945). In order to administer such a vast country, Japan divided China up into administrative regions, each with its own financial management.
The coin and bank note issues of these Japanese "puppet" autonomous regions should not be viewed in isolation, as it is the totality of the story that is interesting. Coin collectors, perhaps, are aware of the coins, while bank note collectors are familiar with the various note issues. To appreciate the "total picture" as to what really transpired during the Japanese occupation, they must be viewed together.
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The Use of Bank Notes as an Instrument of Propaganda - Part I
All propaganda is designed to influence public opinion. Such communications take many forms including the subtle use of propaganda both printed and concealed which may be found on a nation's paper currency. Paper money can be a handy tool in the hands of a cunning propagandist, as seen in the examples given in Part I. These examples cover propaganda found on paper money issues from the American Revolution through the occupation of Europe during World War II.
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The Use of Bank Notes as an Instrument of Propaganda - Part II
This article examines propaganda used on bank notes during the War in the Pacific against Japan, the Korean War, the Vietnamese War and finally the Gulf War in Iraq.
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Maryland Colonial and Continental Bank Note Issues of the American Revolution
This article will explore the conditions in Colonial Maryland during the years preceeding the revolution as well as the war years leading to independence. Emphasis will be on the various note issues of the colonial and continental governments. .
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