Manchukuo KT10 (1944) fen
This specimen was lot 3215 in Stephen Album sale 39 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2021), where it sold for $66. The catalog description[1] noted, "MANCHUKUO: K 'ang Te, 1934-1945, 1 fen, year 10 (1944), PCGS graded MS63, ex Dr. Axel Wahlstedt Collection." The SCWC lists this type for 1939-43. Manchukuo was the puppet state set up by the Japanese in Northeast China to govern the provinces they conquered in 1931. They persuaded K'ang Te, the last emperor of the Manchu dynasty (see the movie of the same name), to be its ruler. He quickly discovered that his rule was merely nominal but he was not allowed to escape. In August 1945, the Russians invaded and occupied the region. After thoroughly looting the factories and banks, they turned it over to the Communist Chinese, who used it as a base to conquer the rest of China from the Nationalists.
Recorded Mintage: 400,000.
Specification: aluminum, 19 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM Y-9.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 39, featuring the John Sylvester, Jr., Collection of Annamese Medals and Orders, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2020.
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