Catalog
1 Silver Yen
| Issuer | Nippon Ginko / Bank of Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1885 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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) | P#22 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in blue and red on pale paper, with a large central vignette at right of Daikoku, the god of wealth, seated atop two bales of rice and holding a mallet, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. The issuer name in kanji runs horizontally across the upper portion of the note, with the denomination 壹圓 in large kanji characters at center. A circular red seal appears at lower left alongside serial numbers at upper left and lower right, and a text block in vertical Japanese script details the silver convertibility promise beneath the denomination. |
|---|---|
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Official circular red intaglio seal of the Bank of Japan applied to both obverse and reverse. |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The convertible note series introduced in 1885 was a direct consequence of Japan's Silver Coinage Act and the Matsukata fiscal reforms — Masayoshi Matsukata had spent years dismantling the inflationary inconvertible notes that had destabilized the economy through the late 1870s. Nippon Ginko itself had only been established in 1882, and this series was among its first formally convertible issues, redeemable in silver on demand.
Printed domestically by the Ministry of Finance's own bureau rather than contracted to a European firm, which was still the exception rather than the rule for Asian central banks in this period. Convertibility was suspended during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 and never fully restored on silver terms — Japan moved to a gold standard in 1897, making this note's silver redemption guarantee functionally obsolete within twelve years of issue.