Catalog
1 Bu Dajōkan-satsu
| Issuer | Dajōkan (Grand Council of State) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1868-1869 |
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| Value | 1 Bu (1/4) |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress in black with red overstamps on a vertically oriented note. The upper register carries the denomination within a decorative scrollwork frame incorporating Chrysanthemum seals and five-seven Paulownia seals; a red circular chop seal is applied over the denomination. The lower register bears vertical columnar inscriptions reading right to left within a frame flanked by two dragons. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 金壹分 信 太政官 會計局 (Translation: Gold one Bu Trust Great Council of State Accounting Office) |
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| Comments |
The Dajōkan-satsu were the new Meiji government's first attempt at a national paper currency, issued beginning in 1868 to finance the costs of the Boshin War and consolidate financial authority away from the fractured han domain notes that had proliferated under the Tokugawa. This 1-bu denomination sits at the lower end of the Dajōkan-satsu series, which ran from 1 mon up through 10 ryō.
The notes suffered from an immediate credibility problem — the public had no reason to trust an untested central authority, and convertibility guarantees were vague. By 1872, when the new yen system was introduced, outstanding Dajōkan-satsu were called in at fixed exchange rates, but redemption was slow and contested for years afterward.