Catalog
5 Monme Hiroshima
| Issuer | Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1764 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a plain, unprinted surface of aged yellow-toned mulberry or kozo-style paper, consistent with typical Edo-period hansatsu construction, showing natural toning and the texture of the hand-laid sheet. |
| Reverse lettering | 五 ん め (Translation: Five) |
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| Comments |
This note originates from Hiroshima han, one of dozens of feudal domains that operated their own paper currency systems under the Tokugawa shogunate — a monetary arrangement that produced hundreds of distinct hansatsu issues, each theoretically valid only within its domain's borders. The 5 monme denomination is silver-weight based, monme being a unit of mass for silver rather than a face-value coin denomination, which tells you something about how commercial exchange actually functioned in mid-Edo period western Japan.
Hiroshima han was a large and relatively prosperous domain under the Asano clan, which gave its currency more practical reach than most hansatsu.