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20 Sen
| Issuer | Bank of Chosen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of paulownia blossoms and foliage enclosed within an ornate border of scrollwork and floral cornerpieces on a light guilloche underprint. The denomination 貳拾錢 (Twenty Sen) is inscribed in large Chinese characters at centre, with the issuer name 朝鮮銀行 (Bank of Chosen) to the left and a circular red seal below it. The date 大正五年五月三日 appears along the lower margin alongside the imprint 朝鮮總督府印刷局. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in orange-brown on a plain cream ground, the reverse centres on an oval cartouche surrounded by a dense guilloche wreath of acanthus scrolls and stylised rosette medallions. Within the oval, the English-language promise-to-pay text reads: "the Bank of Chosen Promises to Pay the Bearer on Demand Twenty Sen in Japanese Currency". The denomination numeral "20" appears at left and "Sen" at right outside the wreath. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Chōsen was established in 1909 under Japanese colonial administration, replacing the Dai-Ichi Bank notes that had circulated since 1902. This 20 Sen issue belongs to a low-denomination series intended primarily for everyday retail transaction in Korea, where Japanese monetary policy was being actively used to displace Chinese copper cash and older Korean currency forms still moving through rural markets.
Printing by the Chōsen Printing Bureau — the colonial government's own facility in Seoul — kept production under direct administrative control rather than contracting to Japanese metropolitan printers. Small-denomination notes from this period suffered heavy wear and were routinely withdrawn; surviving examples in collectible grades are considerably harder to find than the higher denominations of the same series.