33 replies to this topic

[sparky]

Hi nice forum you have here.
I was looking through my Great grandfather's old belongings and found serveral Liberty Bonds inssued by the Republic of china. it says it is redeemable at the Bank of China. from my understanding these bonds were sold to raise money for the war. were they redeemable back when it matured? Would I be able to walk into a Bank of China and redeem them today?
I am assuming they are basically worthless as I see some people sell them on Ebay.

any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Centaur]

Nice to have you here.

I am doubtful if you could get anything out of Bank of China (BOC) for the Liberty Bonds. I believe those bonds were then issued by either the Republican Government or the Nationalist Government of China to raise money - It all depends on the date of the bonds. I don't think the current Communist Government would consider redeeming them as they only took over BOC after 1949. They would not be responsible for the debts prior to it. If I recall correctly, there should not be any bonds issued even after the Communist take over, as no one would have consider buying bonds from then Communist China - certainly not someone from USA!. However, there might some some value in it, if you would consider selling them as antique.

For some reference on the Bank of China:

BANK OF CHINA

The Bank of China (BOC) was established in 1912 by the government and a group of Shanghai merchants. It was brought under the control of the PBOC in 1949, and later assumed its role as a foreign exchange and foreign trade bank.

source: http://www.gwu.edu/~...0/AndyP.htm#BOC

[sparky]

Ahh It never crossed my mind that they were issued before the communist took over.
the certificates are for X amount and there are indiviual coupons for each year that was redeemable from 1927 up to 1956. I'm told he lived in canada for 60 years but only made 3 trips to china. So yes most probably he didn't make it back to redeem the money before the communist took over.

Thanks

[Liang Jieming]

Interesting. But the Bonds were issued by the Bank, not by the government. Strictly speaking, doesn't the Bank which still exists, retain an obligation to honour their own bonds regardless of government in power?

The other question of course is that, since these are now of historical value, would you even want to exchange them for what would most likely be pitifully small amounts now after taking into account inflation.

[sparky]

on the liberty bond it states that it is issued by the Government of China, but can be redeemed at the Bank of china. Since that Government is no more I doubt the bank would honor it. After all the Communist did strip people of their possesions so I guess it would include any investments people had. The bonds total $80 back then, not sure how much that is worth now. maybe the next time I'm in china I should give it a try.

[Liang Jieming]

Ah... I see. Ok, so the guarantor of the bond is the government and not the bank. Tough luck then. Still, you have in your hands a historical document of your grandfather's. That's worth something in itself.

[Centaur]

It might be worthwhile to give it a check. It could be your grandfather's legacy to you. All the best

[sparky]

It might be worthwhile to give it a check. It could be your grandfather's legacy to you. All the best

don't even know where to start. I wonder if the bank of china is still around?
I'll have to stop by the next time I'm in China.

Edited by sparky, 23 May 2006 - 02:37 AM.

[Liang Jieming]

Of course it's still around. It's a major bank in HK and the region.

[sparky]

Didn't know that

[Centaur]

You could try the following addressess:

BANK OF CHINA (CANADA)


BCE PLACE, 161 BAY STREET,
P.O.BOX 612, SUITE 3740, TORONTO,
ONTARIO, CANADA M5J 2S1
SWIFT: BKCHCATT
TLX: 06217598 BOCC TOR
TEL: (416) 3622991
FAX: (416) 3623047
E-MAIL: boccanada@ca.bocusa.com



TORONTO DOWNTOWN BRANCH
396 DUNDAS STREET WEST, TORONTO,
ONTARIO, CANADA M5T 1G7
SWIFT: BKCHCATTCTX
TEL: (416) 9718806
FAX: (416) 9716551

VANCOUVER BRANCH
SUITE 2704, P.O. BOX 49277,
FOUR BENTALL CENTRE, 1055 DUNSMUIR ST.,
VANCOUVER, B.C., CANADA V7X 1L3
SWIFT: BKCHCATTVAN
TLX: 06959308 BOCC VCR
TEL: (604) 6831088
FAX: (604) 6839228

I guess you are still in Canada?

If not you could try the following site for the International Branches of BOC

http://www.bank-of-c...ranches&pages=3

[sparky]

Oh my god right, there's one 10 minutes from my house.
I'm going to call them in the morning.

[Centaur]

Oh my god right, there's one 10 minutes from my house.
I'm going to call them in the morning.

cool and let me know if they place a good value on it.

[Liang Jieming]

Yeah, let us know the outcome. I'm curious to know! Good luck!

[sparky]

I had a closer look at the bonds and they were issued by the Central Bank of China, not the Bank of China.
did a search and found it is located in Taiwan. I sent them an e-mail and they sent this reply.
So yeah the bonds are no good.

According to "The Measures Governing the Disposal of Chinese Government Bonds Issued in Legal Currency", publicized and effective on September 6, 1948, all such bonds, including Liberty Bonds, should have been presented to agent banks for redemption within the period from October 1, 1948 to April 30, 1949. As the prescribed period has long elapsed, no more repayments will be made on these bonds.

Your understanding is appreciated.


Sincerely Yours,

National Treasury Agency

Ministry of Finance

Republic of China