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20 Sen
| Issuer | Imperial Japanese Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917-1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Yen (1871-date) |
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| Obverse description | Black on green underprint. The red seal of the Minister of Finance appears at left, with the denomination in kanji script at centre and as an Arabic numeral at right. Issued in the seventh year of the Taishō era, with the printer's imprint of the Great Japan Imperial Government Printing Bureau along the lower border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | 錢 拾 貳 ハテ或幣 ス國通ハヲ此 ベ法用贋贋紙 シニス造造 處ルトシ 者知 錢 拾 貳 (Translation: Twenty sen Those who counterfeit these banknotes, or know them to be counterfeit and use them, shall be subject to the laws of Japan. Twenty sen) |
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| Comments |
These small-denomination notes entered circulation as a direct consequence of wartime metal shortages — Japan's participation in World War One created enough demand on silver and copper that subsidiary coinage became impractical to maintain at volume. Paper filled the gap. The Printing Bureau produced the series domestically, which was still notable at the time; earlier Japanese paper currency had frequently relied on foreign printers, particularly in the Meiji period.
The series was short-lived by design, retired once metal supplies stabilized postwar. Surviving examples in any condition above heavy use are genuinely uncommon — these were working notes in a period of active commerce.