Catalog
1 Silver Monme
| Issuer | Yanagimoto Ginsho (柳本銀所), Yamato Province |
|---|---|
| Year | 1838 |
| Type | Local banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Official seal |
| Protection description | Red hand-applied official seal (印章) of the issuing office, stamped in vermilion ink on both obverse and reverse as authentication. |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Yanagimoto Ginsho was a privately operated silver exchange bureau (ginsho) licensed under the Tokugawa fiscal system to issue local commodity-backed paper in Yamato Province. These notes circulated as proxies for weighed silver — the monme being a unit of weight, not a struck coin — allowing merchants to avoid physically transporting bullion for routine transactions. The system depended entirely on the issuing house's solvency and local reputation, which made provincial ginsho notes inherently fragile instruments.
At 50 × 35 mm, survival is improbable. Washi notes of this class were handled constantly in commercial settings, and most were redeemed or simply worn to illegibility within a decade of issue.