10 yuan 1922

Common. The eBay market data shows a wide range of sale prices ($54.99 to $1,199.00 USD) across various condition grades, indicating steady availability and collector demand rather than scarcity. Multiple examples in different conditions appear regularly in the market. The Fair condition grade specimen cataloged here typically sells in the $150-$250 range based on comparable eBay listings, confirming this as a regularly encountered issue rather than a scarce or rare variety.

The Sino-Scandinavian Bank operated during China's fragmented Republican era when foreign banking institutions maintained significant financial presence in treaty ports and major cities. The deliberately chosen Norse vessel imagery on the reverse reflects the bank's Scandinavian ownership and partnership, while the pagoda landscape on the obverse signals its operations within the Chinese market. This 1922 issue predates the bank's later consolidation and represents a period of relative optimism in Sino-foreign commercial banking relationships.

The obverse features an ornate border with blue-gray and black ink on a cream background, anchored by quatrefoil corner medallions containing Chinese characters. The central vignette depicts a traditional Chinese pagoda-style structure perched on a hillside overlooking a body of water, evoking classical landscape aesthetics. Red square seals with Chinese characters flank the lower center, serving both security and institutional authentication functions. The reverse displays an identical decorative border treatment with the bank's English name prominently centered at top. Its central vignette showcases a Viking longship with characteristic striped sail on water—an explicit reference to Scandinavian heritage. All text elements are rendered in black ink, with the issue date 'FEB 1ST 1922' appearing at the bottom alongside 'TEN YUAN' denomination. Serial numbers appear in red on the obverse.

Front side: '華威銀行' (Wei Hua Bank / Sino-Scandinavian Bank), '中華民國' (Republic of China), '10' (denomination), '京北' (Beijing/Northern Capital), Serial number 'C0012995' (appears twice in red). Back side: 'THE SINO-SCANDINAVIAN BANK' (English name), 'TEN YUAN' (English denomination), 'FEB 1ST 1922' (Issue date), '10' (denomination numeral).

Intaglio (line engraving) printing, evidenced by the fine geometric patterns, intricate border work, and the crisp line quality of the vignettes visible in the image. The two-color printing (primarily black and blue-gray on cream stock with red overprinted serial numbers and seals) is consistent with banknote security printing standards of the early 1920s. No specific printer attribution is documented in standard catalogs for this issue, though major treaty-port currency printing was typically handled by foreign security printers operating in Shanghai or Hong Kong during this period.

This specimen displays serial number C0012995 with the February 1st, 1922 issue date. The purple handwritten stamp/marking visible across both the obverse and reverse vignettes is characteristic of institutional or archive handling marks from the early-to-mid 20th century and does not constitute a recognized print variety. No significant engraving or printing varieties are documented for this Pick number. The dual-language design (Chinese obverse / English reverse) is standard for the entire issue.