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1 000 000 - Hell Bank Note
| Issuer | Bank of Hades (冥都銀行) |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1000000 Hell Bank Note |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 通用冥幣 冥都銀行 A 2525 佰萬 天堂地府一律通用 (Translation: General-purpose spirit money. Bank of Hades. One million. Valid in both Heaven and Hell.) |
| Reverse description | Dark grey-brown letterpress print on a cream ground with a light geometric underprint. The central vignette presents a large multi-tiered Chinese imperial temple with a circular pavilion roof, flanked by balustrades and a grand staircase; the inscription 皇都銀行 appears on the temple facade. Ornate vertical borders on each side carry stylised dragon and floral motifs, with the denomination numeral repeated in each of the four corners. |
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| Comments |
Hell money — sometimes called ghost money or spirit money — is a form of joss paper burned as an offering during Chinese funerary rites and festivals such as the Hungry Ghost Festival, intended to provide the deceased with wealth in the afterlife. The "Bank of Hades" branding, complete with branch address in the underworld, is a twentieth-century commercial elaboration on a folk tradition with roots stretching back to Tang Dynasty China. The notes are not legal tender in any jurisdiction and carry no monetary value — their entire function is combustion.
Hong Kong emerged as the dominant production hub for export-grade hell money from the mid-twentieth century onward, supplying diaspora communities across Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.