RECENTLY DISCOVERED
SPRATLY ISLANDS (NANSHA ISLANDS) CURRENCY
The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 100 small islands or reefs in the South China Sea. The islands are claimed in whole or in part by the Peoples Republic of China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. The islands sit atop large oil and gas deposits, are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are located on major shipping lanes. Various islands are occupied from time to time by fisherman, military forces of the various claimants and oil exploration crews. In recent years there have been minor military clashes between some of the claimants. China calls the islands Nansha Islands, and bases their claim on fact that some old Chinese coins and pottery have been found on the islands. Recently some banknotes appeared that re-enforces their claim on the islands. They are current, regular issue Chinese 5 Jiao, 1, 5 and 10 Yuan notes that are overprinted in English on the reverse and Chinese on the obverse "FOR USE ONLY IN NANSHA ISLANDS". The reverse of each the notes also bears a large red chop that refers to the South China Sea Fleet. We were able to obtain a limited number of this unusual and mysterious issue.
1 comment:
Is this a hoax? I don't believe chinese gov print these ridiculous marks on their notes.
Post a Comment