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100 Yuan - Hell Banknote
| Issuer | 冥都银行有限公司 (Hades Bank Co., Ltd.) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1999 |
| Type | Vouchers |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in pale green on white stock; centre vignette shows a mountainous landscape with pine trees in a traditional Chinese ink-painting style. Left panel contains a circular guilloche rosette with the inscription YI BAI YUAN; a small deity portrait appears at right. Denomination 100 and date 1999 are set in guilloche panels along the lower border; HELLBANKNOTE inscribed in large serif capitals across the top. |
| Reverse lettering | HELLBANKNOTE 100 YI BAI YUAN 1999 |
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| Comments |
Hell banknotes — joss paper printed to resemble currency and burned as offerings during Chinese funerary rites — have been produced commercially for decades, but the late 1990s saw a notable escalation in their sophistication. This example from 冥都银行有限公司 mimics the aesthetic of contemporary PRC banknotes closely enough that Chinese customs authorities periodically seize shipments destined for overseas diaspora communities, citing concerns about counterfeiting confusion despite the obvious ritual context.
The "1999" date likely references either the year of manufacture or was chosen for its numerological resonance — in Cantonese-inflected folk belief, nine carries associations with longevity and the long road of the afterlife.