Catalog
20 Yen US Military Currency - A-Note
| Issuer | Allied Military Authority (United States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Yen (20 JPY) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 軍票 拾貳 SERIES 100 A 20 TWENTY A 00430658 A 圓拾貳 YEN A 00430658 A A SERIES 100 20 拾貳 MILITARY CURRENCY (Translation: 20 Military currency 20 yen 20) |
| Reverse description | Printed in brown, the reverse is dominated by a large central vignette of an elaborate foliate ornament composed of stylized acanthus leaves and scrollwork, rendered in intricate intaglio-style engraving against a fine guilloche background. The legend 'ISSUED PURSUANT TO MILITARY PROCLAMATION' is inscribed in a panel along the upper border, with the Japanese equivalent '軍事布告に基き發行す' along the lower border. |
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| Comments |
The "A" prefix on these notes — giving rise to the collector nickname "A-Note" — distinguished US Military Yen issued under occupation authority from Bank of Japan currency still circulating simultaneously in 1945. Both were legal tender at par, which created immediate arbitrage problems: Japanese civilians and demobilized soldiers quickly learned to convert military yen into BOJ notes before remittances abroad could be traced or blocked.
The series was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing before the surrender and shipped in bulk. Japan's occupation administration eventually suppressed the dual-currency arrangement in 1948, but not before significant quantities of A-Notes had drained into informal currency markets.