Watch List notes:

China - Banque Industrielle De Chine 1914-17 "Tientsin" Issue 5 Dollars Pick S399 (S/M#C254-2b) place of issue - TIENTSIN overprinted in black, 2 manuscript signatures series B 1914 number 091838, the 1914 supposedly because of the issue date, however hand stamped with 25th October 1917 at centre obverse, in a PMG holder graded Choice Fine 15 NET Ink Burn. This is an Extraordinarily Rare note especially in issued format due to the extremely successful note redemption rate nearing 100%, in fact its so Rare that the current SCWPM records this and the higher denominations from the series only as SPECIMENS and this is the ONLY issued example recorded on the PMG Population Report at the time of writing. A very attractive design as expected from Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London in blue on multicolour featuring guilloche panels with values in Chinese and English along with 2 statues of what appear to be Chinese mythological creatures at lower centre left and right on obverse, also the text at centre in a mix of English, French and Chinese. The reverse in violet on multicolour with what appears to be an illustration of the popular Temple of Heaven in its methodical Confucian design. The temple originally served as a vast stage for solemn rites performed by the emperor (the literal 'Son of Heaven'), who prayed there for good harvests at winter solstice and sought divine clearance and atonement. Since 1918 this private imperial domain has opened its gates to the public and is a poplar site where people perform daily taichi, twirl on gymnastic bars and sing revolutionary songs. The Rarity of this note makes it a real treat for any collector and most likely to be missing from even the utmost advanced collections. In contrast, online research shows none of this denomination offered with only 1 of the same type currently in the collection of the National Museum of American History and only the 10 Dollars denomination of the same type offered in recent times

Estimate: 250-500 GBP