Thursday, March 31, 2011

Japanese Invasion Money (JIM)

Malaya Japanese Invasion Money $1000 note

After the Japanese invaded malaya in December 1941, they replaced  the British currency with their own currency. The Japanese currency issued by the Yokohama Specie Bank were commonly known as "Banana notes" and were deemed to be worthless. However not all Malaya JIM notes are worthless. One such note is the $1000 note issued in the late occupation. The Japanese issued two different types of $1000 notes because of hyper-inflation.  The common type has two red block letter "MU" printed on the bottom corners. The rare one has a black letter "MA" printed on the bottom corners. The $1000 Black "MA" note in mint condition has a catalog value of RM3300. A note that has been graded and authenticated by PMG would fetch a higher price. The author acquired the PMG graded Japanese $1000 Black "MA" note from a seller in US.