Hell Bank Notes: Contemporary Issues

The notes exhibited in this catalogue are Hell ‘Bank’ Notes. In fact, they are what is called ‘faux’ money and as such are certainly not justifiable bank notes. They are used in China and many countries in Eat Asia specifically to burn as offerings to the spirits of departed loved ones in the belief that such money can be drawn from the Bank of Hell and used in Paradise. In this context, Hell and Heaven are synonymous with one another. They are an interesting example of ‘Exonumia’, or paper that does not belong in any way to the realm of strict bank-note collecting.