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.

Ho Hong Bank Limited

History of The Ho Hong Bank Limited

The history of The Ho Hong Bank Limited is quite easily available on the internet, expecially on Wikipedia.

It was founded in 1917 and in 1932 merged with two other banks, The Oversea-Chinese Bank Limited and Chinese Commercial Bank Limited to form the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC).

The Bank Head Office was in Singapore and it had branches in Muar, Batu Pahat, Malacca and Penang.

It had two overseas branches, one each in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Copy of The Ho Hong Bank cheque dated 12 July 1932

Copy of The Ho Hong Bank cheque dated 25 Nov 1921

Above issued by The Ho Hong Bank Limited, Penang Branch. This cheque is unique because it is in Chinese, there is no physical stamp and the chinese date (25 Nov 21) and georgian date (12 Dec 1932) differs by 11 years.  It has an embossed  albino stamp on the top right corner. Albino stamp are not documented in any local stamp catalog.

Bank of Malaya Limited

History of Bank of Malaya Limited

Not much is known about The Bank of Malaya Limited.  The only reliable information available is from the Straits Times archive. The Bank was established in February 1920. It operated as a single branch bank in Ipoh. Refer to Straits Times dated 21 Feb 1920 below on the opening of The Bank of Malaya Limited..

On April 26 1932 the Bank of Malaya Limited shut its door due to the depression and was subsequently liquidated.

Straits Times dated 9 May 1932

Straits Times dated 14 March 1933

Copy of The Bank of Malaya cheque dated 10 April 1931

The Bank of Malaya Limited cheque is a very rare piece as the Bank was liquidated during the Great Depression in 1932 and very few is known to exist. The author acquired this piece from a flea market in China. The cheque was issued by the Ipoh branch of the Bank of Malaya Limited and has a 4 cents Straits Settlements stamp affixed to it. It was cashed at The Oversea Chinese Bank Limited, Amoy, China. The Oversea Chinese Bank was the only British Malaya incorporated bank to have a branch in Amoy, China during that time.