广西银行宣统二年广西省造宣统元宝库平七钱二分银币图案纸币壹圆银票。乌龙票。
CHINA--PROVINCIAL BANKS. Kwangsi Bank. 1 Yuan, 1909. P-S2345. "Black Dragon" Note. PMG Choice Fine 15.
令人嚮往垂涎的一枚纸钞，机会难得。在所有珍稀中国纸钞中，这张"乌龙"是PMG评鉴的最高分，也毫无疑问是我们见过的最精美的一枚。它一直为私人持有，十多年前售出125,000美元，本次是自那以来首次在大型拍卖会上亮相。正面为两条黑龙相向而立，中为广西元宝。背面左侧为"广西银行"手制戳，橙色框内文字说明大意为"无任何折扣"和"可在任何分行兑换白银"。
这款纸币的历史可以追溯到清朝，清政府对皇家银行进行结构改革，广西成为第一个建立省银行的省份。自发行之始，此钞在南宁人之间便被称为"乌龙"。纸币在日本印刷，伍圆纸币印量是壹圆的两倍。这些纸币仅流通两年便被召回，倖存者寥寥无几。流传民间的通常收藏于高端藏家手中，难见天日。本枚拍品亦有可能收藏与幸运精英藏家之手，并在未来数年间都成为藏界谈论的珍品。(S/M #K36)
This is an exciting opportunity to acquire one of the most desirable and coveted pieces of World Paper. Among the most significant Chinese pieces in all of numismatics, this "Black Dragon" note is the sole graded on PMGs census and without question the finest example we have ever seen.
It has been privately held and is making its first major auction appearance since realizing $125,000 over a decade ago. The design features facing black dragons around a vignette of a Kwangsi Dollar. The reverse shows a Kwangsi Bank handstamp at left, and an inscription within the orange border that loosely translates to "no discount given" and "redeemable for silver at any branch." The incredible history of the note can be traced back to when the Qing Dynasty changed the structure of both Imperial Banks and made Kwangsi the first province to establish their own bank. From the start, among the Nan-Ning people the notes from this series were referred to commonly as the "Ooi-Long" notes.
The printing of the note took place in Japan, with the Japanese printing double the amount of 5 Dollar notes as 1 Dollar notes which is partially why the $1 example is so incredibly special. The notes were only in circulation for 2 years, and after being summoned back at that time, so few have survived. Those that have typically disappear into elite collections and in some cases have never resurfaced. This special note will likely fall into the hands of the most fortunate of collectors and will likely be a talked about treasure for years to come.
