Pick #127a 1000 Seriboe Roepiah Netherlands Indies Japanese Occupation PMG Choice Fine 15

The biggest denomination of 1000 Rupiah numismatics paper from the Netherlands Indies' Japanese Occupation stable, a note that was issued, but apparently, never put to use or never had the chance to be put to use.

As such, most of this 1000 Rupiah or rather Roepiah issue are found in very good condition & the worst condition one could find would always be in AUNC condition & usually any piece up for sale online would most of the time, if not all of the time, either be in AUNC or UNC itself.

The rag featured here thus is unusual, rare if you love this word that much, as it's in a well circulated condition with all the complete signs of thorough & proper natural circulation & above all, credit should be given to PMG for having graded it a deserving Choice Fine 15.

Paradoxically, if this issue was never put into circulation as numismatics grapevine had us believe all these years, then, how did this note got itself so nicely circulated all over then Indonesia, or the so-called numismatics grapevine's talk is nothing but mere hogwash?!

Apparently, there are many fakes or rather forgeries of this issue but it's rather easy to detect a forgery copy as it has an 'extra feature' that the real McCoy doesn't have & as such, it will never be encapsulated by PMG as PMG seems to be experts in this issue as all the forgeries submitted to them apparently had all been returned in bodybags.
 

Pick M5b Japanese Invasion Money Malaya 4 Piece Uncut One Dollar

 An unusual piece of 4 Piece Uncut $1 Japanese Invasion Money aka banana money issued for use in Japanese Occupied Malaya during WW2, consisting of 4 pieces of $1 denomination of various Block Letters, a rather interesting piece of numismatic history.

This piece should be an archival piece meant to be stored in Tokyo as one can see the annotation therein bearing a signature of a bank official together with the its date.

It's made of thick firm paper, with rather strong embossment on the paper surface.

A rather unusual never seen before numismatic paper in the fascinating world of Japanese Invasion Money collecting!

Pick 14b Japanese Invasion Money Burma 1 Rupee Block Letter BC Uncirculated

 A piece of Japanese Invasion Money issued for use in Burma during World War II bearing the face value of 1 Rupee and bearing the common Block Letters of BC.

As most numismatics masters or sifus know, the scarcer Block Letters for this numismatic issue is actually the Block Letters of BD.

Even the Block Letters of BA and BB are easily found for sale on numerous online portals.

The total Block Letters issued for this 1 Rupee banknote are 4, thus, those bearing the Block Letters of BD are the 'very elusive ones, especially those in Gem Uncirculated condition as most collectors in the world of numismatics are a very egoistical lot whereby premium quality in the form of Gem UNC of their banknotes is their eternal order of their lives. 

Pick M7a MA 000635 10 Dollars Japanese Invasion Money Malaya

A 10 Dollar banknote issued by the Japanese for its occupied territory of Malaya during WW2, a monetary paper that is more known as banana money due to the very obvious & conspicuous vignette of a banana tree on its Obverse.

This banknote bears the serial number of MA 000635 and as archived, this banknote was obviously printed in Tokyo wherelse those with mere Block Letters were printed in Batavia, as history would have told us.

The total amount of such banknotes being irresponsibly printed by the Japs is unknown but the quantity should be very colossal as these were hyperinflation notes with practically no purchase value.

But, ironically, they carry heavy numismatic value today as there is a huge collector base for such banana money amongst the numismatic fraternity all over the world, perhaps, when people becomes well-to-do, they do not know what to do with their excess funds, & thus, plough their excess cash in such collectibles.

((For those who have banknotes for sale, please write in with your phone numbers)).
 

Pick 13b Half Rupee Burma Block BA Japanese Government Uncirculated

 A Half Rupee banknote issued for use during the Japanese Occupation of Burma with the Block Letters of BA and as catalogued as Pick 13b in surprisingly still pristine condition.

However, there is nothing to gloat about  about this tiny piece of obsolete numismatic paper as apparently, lots of these were issued by the Japs, and as everyone knows, the result was the inevitable hyperinflation & the worthlessness of the monetary value of such notes issued, something the Japs should be extremely famous & proud of for such a ''feat'' during WW2.

And one can see lots of this Half Rupee banknote being offered for sale via online sites like eBay, showing how much it must have been printed off the press then.

((For those who have banknotes for sale, please write in with your phone numbers)).

P 2a Oceania Japanese Occupation 1 Shilling ERROR With Extra Paper

A so-called 1 Shilling defective banknote from a defunct nation known as Oceania under the Japs during World War II as catalogued as P 2a by Pick.
A somewhat unusual note due to the excess paper found at the upper top-left edge & also with the bottom margin of the Obverse shifted down, all the way down, while the Reverse's entire design seems to be rather intact.
There has been quite a number of error banknotes found on JIM notes issued under Malaya, but most of them are not with excess paper or a 'fish tail.'
Apparently, not many Oceania's notes have defects as one seldom do see them either up for sale or been shared online, esp. one with this excess ugly piece of paper.
Above it all, for numismatics' purists, this piece of obsolete numismatic paper is in Uncirculated condition.
And it has yet to be chemically cleaned!

Japanese Occupation Oceania P.1B Half Shilling Block OA PMG EF 45

A Half Shilling note from Oceania under the Japanese Occupation period with the Block Letters of OA as catalogued by Kraus as P.1B & also catalogued by Schwan Boling as SB2212A but unfortunately, this is a low grade note. 
Wishing for a long time to upgrade to a PMG 66 one as grapevine has it that someone Down Under has it. So, if you have it, raise your hand & say what price that you want! Everyone has a price, as such, don't say it's NFS!
Also looking for the Block Letter of OB got this Half Shilling issue and wouldn't mind starting from a lower grade one as a start.

P 1a 1945 Oceania Block Letters OA Half Shilling Japanese Invasion Money PMGed

A rather high grade 1/2 Shilling Japanese Invasion numismatic paper from the so-called now defunct entity called Oceania which looks unmistakebly like a strong EF note but now only graded as a lowly VF 35 by the esteemed numismatic experts, PMG.

But  it's just one of those things whereby an EF note is graded as VF as we are not experts, we are merely small-time, part-time amateur anchovies-in-the-ocean collectors. Would one make noise if a raw note bought as EF and then subsequently graded as AUNC 58 EPQ by PMG?! It's just one of those things, sozusagen.

But the question is why bother getting this all-common lowly JIM note graded, as there is nothing therein gloatable or crow about, esp. gradewise, as most serious numismatic buggers are targetting grades like PMG 68 & above these days, the higher the better? And also the Block Letters of OA is the all-common one as everyone or almost everyone knows OC is the Block Letters that every serious collector desires. Maybe it's one of those "I want to complete the set" things, perhaps...

Burma Japanese Invasion Money 1 Rupee Block Letters Omitted

***A worthless 1 Rupee Japanese Invasion Money used in Burma but which seems to come without its all-common Block letters of BD.
But surely, the all-efficient Japs couldn't have omitted printing the Block letters.
And if local Malaysian banknotes can have had the Agung portraits on them removed, & thus, making them 'excellent errors', surely, these JIM notes' Block letters could be removed too,& very easily that is, esp. now that there are so many newly crowned sifus, or rather senseis or better still, grandmasters, in the Malaysian numismatic world.
That being the case, then, this banknote is nothing but a 'post-mint job', but a very professionally done 'post-mint job' that each and everyone of us should & must be proud of.

Malaya 1942 50 Cents Block MB Japanese Invasion Money

***Nowadays all types of banknotes are being sent to PMG for grading even though some or rather, many of these banknotes are inexpensive ones, giving the impression that it's not that expensive to have had banknotes graded by PMG or that PMG belongs to one's grandfather.
Take this 50 cents JIM as a fine example as it is currently catalogued at RM20 a piece, that is, mind you, for a UNC piece, and an AUNC piece would, naturally, be priced very much lower than that, so, why send such a cheap banknote to PMG to be 'slabbed' unless of course, PMG must be owned by one's father or one's grandfather.

Japanese Invasion Money Netherlands Indies 10 Gulden SA222533

***This banknote looks like UNC, feels like UNC and sure do smells like UNC and what the hell, it's UNC or rather should be UNC, no need to throw money into the gutter by having it sent to PMG.
And what's the big deal about such banana banknotes issued by the Japs during World War II as our grandmas & grandpas had at one time burnt truckloads of such worthless bananas banknotes left behind by the Japs.
Just why some numismatic morons would want to pay a high price for such banknotes is beyond comprehension.

Malaya Japanese Invasion Money $1 MA 717736

***And yet another piece of worthless and useless piece of paper courtesy of the freaking Japs and their deeds of the '40s and this piece is from the Monetary Vault of none other than the Malaysian numismatic Big Brother, His Venerable, Sir Raymond Chang.
What could have this banknote bought during the hyperinflation period of the Japs in Malaya? A miserable banana perhaps, or just a stick of fag?
According to unverified accounts, the great grandfather of Sir Raymond had a container load of these $1 banknotes, all of which came with Serial Numbers, but sadly, much had been burnt in a big bonfire to celebrate the then Japs' defeat  and subsequent departure but 3 bricks were wisely kept as souvenirs and these are now safely in Sir Raymond's monetary vault.
And again according to the same unverified sources, these 3 bricks would be put up for auction in this coming Spink fall's auction in Singapore.
But, then, who would want to bid for these 1940's hell banknotes?

Phillippines Japanese Invasion Money 5 Centavos P/AI

***Yet another piece of numismatic crap produced by the Japs during their heydays in the 1940s when they were the Big Brother in the Asian region militarily.
Actually, these pieces of papers were being burnt in abundance post the Japs era as they were not even worth the papers on which they were printed on valuewise, but, yet, today, so-called collectors are willing to pay, sometimes a bomb, for some of these Japs' banana money.
Maybe, these so-called collectors have just much too much money that they don't know where to shaft their superfluous money to.
And maybe, they should start to invest in Hell Banknotes as after all, there is strong potential and a bright future in Hell Banknotes according to some 'speculators' who have already taken big positions in Hell Banknotes.
And just in case if these positions turn sour, we can at least see them in hell!

Malaya Japanese Invasion Money 50 Cents Block MB

***Another piece of worthless junk, courtesy of the Japs, of course.
A worthless piece of crap that was sold for $2 & then, re-sold for $6 and that means a hefty profit of 200%!
Any smart businessman would take a 200% profit without hesitation and it's a big question why the poor buyer would actually buy such a worthless piece of the japs' crap for $6 as after all, such paper money were being burnt in truck loads post-Japanese era?
Even Hell Banknotes would `be worth hell of a bit more money than all these so-called banana money.
As such, the Hell Banknotes would be a better long-term investment compared to all the crap printed by the Japs during their heydays in the then Malaya.

Phillippines Japanese Invasion Money 5 Centavos P/AA

***A piece of worthless Japanese Invasion Money from the Phillipines carrying the then value of 5 Centavos but of course, it's not worth the paper on which it was printed on.
And of course, post Japanese era, lots of our grandfathers & grandmothers must have had a ball of a time burning lorry loads of these worthless JIM notes.
Only silly collectors would readily pay big money for such useless JIM notes today and the reasons vary & one of which is no one is thinking rationally these days or maybe, such folks just have too money money in their pockets & know not what to do with them.
One best thing that one can learn from the banknotes issued by the Japs during the Japanese Occupation period in Malaya or elsewhere is not to repeat what the Japs did monetarily.
If one repeats what the Japs did, ie, printing paper like no one's business, then, one is going to created hyperinflation and bankrupt the country. And one might need to bring along one's bullock cart full of banknotes when one goes shopping for just a miserable loaf of bread.

Oceania Japanese Invasion Money 1 Shilling OA Prefix (A Trip To The Jalan Horley, Ipoh, Flea Market)

***Last Sunday, the respected Pakar Numis Malaysia and very prolific Malaysian numismatic writer, Mr Saran Singh, & yours truly decided to drive 2 hours up North to the Sunday flea market in Jalan Horley, Ipoh.

As luck would have it, Saran just took delivery of his latest BMW 4-wheeler and the drive up north was extremely pleasurable in a still virginal speedster and the smell of brand new leather all over the cockpit never smelt that good before this.

The flea market in Jalan Horley, Ipoh is a huge one with lots of folks browsing around and with a potpourri of stuff being hawked. I thought I even saw the blue pills called Viagra being sold. I wanted to ask Saran to reconfirm but for whatever reason, I didn't.

As far as banknotes are concerned, I noticed only 3 fellas selling a certain respectable amount of banknotes.

One middle aged Chinese man called Ong who is an easy going type, a Malay man with a goatee from Penang and a younger Chinese man who has quite a lot of stuff but otherwise, a very aloof individual - he is more fit to be a King of a far-flung tiny island nation than trying selling banknotes on a Sunday morning. His fuck-up attitude would even piss my great-grandma off.

Basically, this clown no-fucked us as perhaps, we looked like time wasters and couldn't afford his stuff, his crappy stuff I must honestly add. Perhaps, I am partly to be blamed as that was my bad hair day as I forgot to comb my hair and Saran didn't wear his turban correctly either.

Anyway, this mother-fucker was trying to sell a 1925 $5 Straits Settlements note for RM2,500, a bloody cheap price for this banknote, but beware guys, this note is a forgery, and a very poor & lousy one at that. With this crappy piece of poor forgery, you can't even get to buy a one-way bus ticket back home from Ipoh to KL!

Other than the above 3 fellas, you won't be able to find any other parties selling banknotes at this flea market & be warned that prices over here are higher than in KL. I suppose the stuff found must have come from the bright horny lights of KL.

Anyway, in order not to come home empty handed & as ass luck would have it, Mr Ong had a stack of Oceania JIM notes with the value of One Shilling for sale. All of them bear either the OA or OB Prefixes. Saran & myself bought these & split them among ourselves.

Apparently, these belonged to Mr Ong's grandma at one time and as fate would have it, his, then, extremely rich grandma (who became poor with these then worthless works of art courtesy of the Japs) burned almost 1 lorry load of these after the defeat of the Japs thinking that these were worth less than the toilet paper. One copy is shown here.

Oceania Japanese Invasion Money 1/2 Shilling OA Prefix

***This rag is a 1/2 Shilling Japanese Invasion Money printed for use by the Japs for the Oceania region.

Though it is considered nothing more than a rag, but, nevertheless its prefix of OA makes it worthwhile putting aside for posterity as much of what we see comes with the now all-tiring prefix of OC, which only the numismatic catalogue gives some value but not many gives a hoot to this OC note.

Why in the heavens is it so damn hard to find this issue in OA or OB prefixes while OC seems to be so, so readily available like some kind of toilet paper?

By the way, I bought this note from one old "Chee Ko Pek" at the sleazy morning market located at a sleazy lane somewhere in Petaling Street.

I am sure you guys know which back lane I am talking about, as it is you guys who told me where it is located at in the first place. Thankyouverymuch.

Oceania Japanese Invasion Money 1 Shilling BLOCK OB

***Here are 2 Pieces of the Japanese Invasion Money from Oceania with the value of 1 Shilling and bearing the Scarce OB Prefix.

The ones most commonly being offered for sale online and offline are those which come with the common prefix of OC.

Oceania Japanese Invasion Money 10 Shillings AU

***This is an Oceania's Japanese Invasion Money with the value of 10 Shillings.

A UNC note obviously with very crisp, firm paper but due to slight handling marks near the top edges & also some slight rounding of corners, a grading of AU would be more accurate.

This note has often been labelled as a scarce issue. Is it?

Wouldn't the 1/2 & 1 Shilling issues bearing the Prefixes of OA & OB be scarcer?

Price = US$110

Oceania Japanese Invasion Money 1 Shilling 'OB' Prefix Fine

***This is a 1 Shilling Oceania's Japanese Invasion Money bearing the Prefix of 'OB.'