Banana money

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Banana money is an informal term given to a type of currency issued by Imperial Japan during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak and Brunei, and was named as such because of the motifs of banana trees on 10 dollar banknotes. It was in widespread use within the occupied territories where the previous currency became a scarcity. The currency were referred to as "dollars" and "cents" like its predecessors, the Straits dollar and Malayan dollar.

Contents 1 History 2 Banknotes 2.1 1, 5 and 10 dollars (1942) 2.2 Cents (1942) 2.3 100 and 1000 dollars (1944) 3 References 4 See also

[edit] History

Following the fall of Singapore into the hands of Imperial Japan on February 15, 1942, the Japanese introduced new currencies as a replacement of those previously in use in the occupied territories of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei. The new currency in Malaya and Singapore were issued with the same value as the Malayan dollar, and first entered circulation in 1942. As with other currencies issued by Japan in occupied territories, local residents were forced to adopt this type of currency, while existing coins were allowed until a shortage of coins required the Japanese administration release issued notes for cents. Similar currencies were issued in Japanese-occupied Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines.

To supply the authorities with money whenever they required it, they simply printed more notes. This resulted in high inflation and a severe depreciation in value of the banana note. Moreover, counterfeiting was rampant due to its lack of a serial number on many notes. Increasing inflation coupled with Allied disruption of Japan's economy forced the Japanese administration to issue banknotes of larger denominations and increase the amount of money in circulation. Sharp drops in the currency's value and increased price of goods frequently occurred following a Japanese defeat in battle abroad.

After the surrender of Japan, the currency became entirely worthless, and to this day the Japanese government has refused to exchange these currencies. Some locals managed to escape poverty because they had hidden Straits dollars and Malayan dollars, the previous currencies before the Japanese invaded. Those with hidden stashes of the old dollars were thus able to use them the moment the British resumed control of Singapore and surrounding colonies, when they became valid again. A number of surviving banknotes were stamped as war souvenirs, while its use as printing paper for rudimentary calendars for 1946 was also recorded.

The present value of the currency as a collector's item remains mixed depending on their condition, the presence of serial numbers, the use of woven paper, and their use as specimens. Common notes lacking serial numbers are still worth below their printed value, while rarer versions are worth slightly over or several times their printed value. Notes stamped as war souvenirs are currently rare, while notes with 1946 calendar overprints currently fetch about RM 3,000 (as of September 2006).

Ten dollar-sized leaflets with reprints the ten dollar note's obverse were also airdropped by British air forces during the Japanese occupation as a warning to the population on the potential worthlessness of the currency in an event the Japanese is defeated. Fear among the population of possessing the leaflet lead to the their rarity and present high value (at an estimated RM3,000 as of September 2006).

[edit] Banknotes

The currency was released solely in the form of banknotes, including cents. The notes retain certain features that were common among preceding currencies, such as the use of the dollar and cent currency name, albeit without the use of their respectable currency symbols ($ and ¢). However, the languages used on the notes were reduced to English, and Man'yōgana at the lower edge of the notes. Each note bears different obverse and reverse designs but retains similar layouts. Intended for circulation in Malaya, Singapore, Brunei, Sarawak and North Borneo, the notes were marked with stamped block letters that begin with "M" for "Malaya".

[edit] 1, 5 and 10 dollars (1942)

The first series of notes were originally of lower denominations of 1, 5 and 10 dollars, issued in 1942. Each bear different obverse and reverse designs but retain similar layouts, with the obverse illustrating plantation crops. Additional 10 dollar notes were printed in 1944.

First Series
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse
		$1	Blue	Bank value in Arabic numeral system and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numerals.	1942
		$5	Brown	Bank value in Arabic numerals and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numerals.	1942
		$10	Grey	Bank value in Arabic numerals and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numerals, illustration of the sea from a coastline.	1942, 1944
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] Cents (1942)

In September 1942, non-serialised currency notes were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 cents as a response to a shortage of old coins. The cent notes were of a simpler design, lacking plantation crops on the obverse; the 50 cent note is an exception. The cent notes are noticeably smaller than dollar notes.

First Series
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse
		1¢	Blue	Bank value in Arabic numerals and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numeral system.	September 1942
		5¢	Brown	Bank value in Arabic numeral system and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numeral system.	September 1942
		10¢	Grey	Bank value in Arabic numeral system and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numeral system.	September 1942
		50¢	Brown	Bank value in Arabic numeral system and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numeral system.	September 1942
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] 100 and 1000 dollars (1944)

Worsened economic conditions in the following years forced the Japanese government to begin printing notes of larger denominations of 100 and 1000 dollars in 1944. The 100 dollar notes were printed in two dramatically different versions, while the 1000 dollar note were available in only one version. Illustration on the notes center more around images of rural life. The 100 and 1000 dollar notes were the last new notes introduced before the surrender of Imperial Japan in August 1945.

First Series
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse
		$100	Brown	Bank value in Arabic numeral system and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, illustration of rural life, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numeral system, illustration of rural life.	1944
		$100	Brown obverse, green reverse	Bank value in Arabic numeral system and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, illustration of a rubber estate, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numeral system, illustration of rural life.	1944
		$1000	Brown	Bank value in Arabic numeral system and English; "The Japanese Government" text in English, illustration of rural life, stamped block letters.	Bank value in Arabic numeral system, illustration of rural life.	1944
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Japanese government-issued Philippine fiat peso, similarly designed notes in the Japanese-occupied Philippines.
• Japanese military yen, the currency used during the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong.

Preceded by: Malayan dollar Location: present day Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Reason: fall of Malaya, Borneo and Singapore in the hands of Japan in World War II. Ratio: at par

Currency of Straits Settlements, Brunei 1942 – August 1945

Succeeded by: Malayan dollar Location: present day Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Reason: Japan lost World War II. Ratio: The occupation currency became worthless. The value of the pre-occupation currency was restored.