I was given a small bag of world paper money today. I know what country they are from, but was wondering how old they are, the denomination, and value (if any).
I'm not much help on the Brazilians- they are likely 1970-1984 per http://www.bcb.gov.br/?CRUZ70 The Singapore is a $1 commemorative from 1976 Japanese likely 1943 Reichsmark (German) has a date on it- I believe 1940? The Argentina's you can research- look up "Decreto Ley 18 188/69 Billetes Pesos" I have no idea on the (Chinese? Japanese?) note.
The "Japanese 10 Dollars" is invasion money used in Singapore and Borneo among other places from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese government printed it to replace the money of conquered nations. Ballsy, eh? It's not even worth US $5 but the history behind it is priceless.
The Japanese did not print their invasion money to replace the existing currency, it supplemented it. The existing indigenous currency remained legal tender including the US$ in the Philippines. It is not ballsy but consistent with contemporary practice and made good economic and military sense in that it requires the occupied country to pay the cost of the occupation. It is no different than the use of Allied Military Currency or yellow seal dollars and British Military Authority currency in Europe.
The interesting part about the JIM notes used in the Philippines is that later on holders of those worthless notes sued the US government in an effort to collect some value for the notes. You can find them stamped with JAPWANCAP or something similar. After they miserably lost the lawsuit the notes were dumped into the collector market.
The notes are basically worth a dime each, if you can get that much from someone. The Singapore $1 still has monetary value in excess of collector value - it is worth ca. 50c or so in foreign exchange. The other notes lost all redemption.
The real interesting part of the JAPWANCAP case in the US (they also tried in Japan and the Philippines) is that it was dismissed for not being filed within the 6 year statute of limitations set for actions in the Court of Claims. The case was not filed until the 1960s. Part of JAPWANCAP's argument was that the Japanese Military Peso was reduced in value because of the counterfeiting done by the US. This was not known until the 1960s when it was declassified and they tried to argue that the statute of limitations did not begin to run until the information was available. The case was not decided on its merits in the US.
And the real lesson for any country taking over another is that printing worthless currency does absolutely nothing to endear the local populace to the invader/occupier.
I'll go ahead and risk getting political. The Japanese were ballsy from the Taisho era on. Their goal was to completely obliterate any suggestion of a previous culture and just make it part of Japan. Their was nothing "supplemental" about their final goals. Visit South Korea and go to any ancient temple and read the signs. None of them are original structures. They were all razed by Japanese soldiers. I'm not an angst ridden vet, my children are both Japanese citizens and I maintain a home there. Every male relative I have their was involved in the war. The numismatic point is, keep the Japanese money not for it's monetary value, but for it's sinister history. It's just annoying to be called out with Wikipedia info.
My comments related specifically to the Japanese Invasion Money and the fact that it was supplemental to the indigenous currency. My comments have nothing to do with Japanese military or foreign policy of the era. You suggested that the printing of the Japanese Invasion Money was a ballsy move. While Japanese foreign policy of the era may very well be characterized as such, characterizing the printing of occupation currency by the Japanese as such is misplaced. It is consistent with the military and economic requirements of an occupier. It was done in WWI and by both sides during WWII in both ETO and PTO. Comparing Korea (which I have spent considerable time in) and the other areas that made up the Co-Prosperity Sphere is misplaced. Korea was annexed by Japan, these other areas were not. The Japanese goal in the Philippines, Malaya and Southeast Asia (not including Korea) was not to annex these areas but to install puppet governments controlled by Japan but made up of natives (such as the Laurel government in the Philippines) for the exploitation of their resources. As for your reference to Wikipedia, you are sorely misguided. I have spent almost 30 years in the study of military numismatics and have a firm understanding of it. I have authored a number of articles on the subject including a study of the Japanese Invasion Money for the Philippines. (If you would like a copy of General Hommas decree regarding the circulation of the Japanese Military Peso and the fact that the Commonwealth peso and the US dollar remained legal tender in the Philippines during the war I will be glad to provide it.) It is even more annoying to be called out by someone who knows nothing about me.
Thanks for the help. BTW, why does foreign paper money get in such bad condition vs American money? I've never seen notes get as tattered as ours.
Probably this money was used for a long time and then was stored incorrectly. There is a post on my blog that shows a recent study about the life of Brazilian money. http://www.numisbrazilis.blogspot.com.br/2012/08/papel-moeda-vida-util.html
Interesting that the 2 reais note has a longer average lifespan than the fiver. By and large, the lower the value of a note, the sooner it needs to be replaced. Here are some figures for the euro area, partly extrapolated of course. One possible "remedy" for low denomination notes, especially with tropical climates, is to use polymer. Here in "Euroland", the new generation notes will have an extra protective layer. That also means the new €5 note for example weighs 0.71 g (instead of 0.63 g). Hope it will live a little longer than a ladybird. Christian
