5 dollars 1931

Common. Despite being a regional Chinese provincial issue from 1931, this denomination and issuer combination appears with reasonable frequency in the collector market. The eBay reference data showing an uncirculated example selling for $12.50 in October 2024 confirms these notes trade at modest prices typical of common early 20th-century Chinese provincial currency. No evidence suggests limited print runs, recall status, or extreme scarcity for this Pick number. The PMG 67 grade represents an exceptional preservation example but does not indicate rarity of the issue itself.

The Kwangtung Provincial Bank issued this note during the Republic of China period, a time when regional provincial banks maintained significant currency-issuing authority. The classical architectural building depicted on the reverse represents the bank's institutional prominence in Guangdong province during the early 1930s, while the bilingual design (Chinese and English) reflects the commercial and diplomatic context of treaty-port era China. The note's promise to pay in silver dollars reflects the international trade standards of the period before China's currency standardization.

The obverse features a formal portrait of a male figure in Western formal attire positioned in an oval frame on the right side, representing institutional authority and governance. The center of the note displays an ornate medallion containing Chinese characters arranged in traditional style, flanked by decorative corner elements with Chinese inscriptions in all four quadrants. The reverse showcases a symmetrical, multi-story classical building with regular window patterns and a central entrance, representing the bank's physical headquarters or an aspirational institutional building. The entire design is framed by elaborate scalloped borders and ornamental scrollwork, characteristic of American Bank Note Company's sophisticated security printing aesthetic. The color scheme—pink and green on the front, orange on the back—creates strong visual distinction between sides while maintaining institutional gravitas.

FRONT: 廣東省銀行 (Kwangtung Provincial Bank) | 五元銀 (Five Silver Dollars) | 民國二十年 (Year 20 of the Republic / 1931) | X376354 (Serial Number). BACK: THE KWANGTUNG PROVINCIAL BANK | PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND AT ITS OFFICE HERE | FIVE DOLLARS | LOCAL CURRENCY | AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY | X376354 (Serial Number).

Steel plate engraving with multiple color lithography, printed by the American Bank Note Company (ABNC). The intricate line work, fine decorative borders, ornate pattern work, and multi-color registration visible in both images are hallmarks of ABNC's high-security banknote production. The precision of color separation and the complexity of the engraved elements indicate traditional intaglio printing combined with chromolithographic color underlays, a standard security printing technique of the 1930s era.

This note corresponds to Pick catalog number S2422d (the 'd' suffix indicates this specific variety). The visual analysis confirms signature variety D-E-F and identifies this as the ABNC-printed version with the architectural building reverse design. The serial number X376354 appears twice on the note as standard for the period. The note exhibits the standard 1931 issue characteristics with no visible overprints, serial number prefixes variations, or other distinguishing factors that would indicate a distinct sub-variety within the S2422d classification.