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5 Sen
| Issuer | Government of Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse presents a postal money order format with a central vignette at right depicting an imperial chrysanthemum seal above the numeral 5 and the legend SEN, framed within a bordered panel bearing the inscription 日本郵便貯金局 (Japan Postal Savings Bureau). The upper border carries the title 特別郵便切手壹臺紙 in vertical script, with 金五錢 prominently displayed to the right of centre. The left portion of the note consists of an unprinted rectangular field reserved for the remitter's name (氏名) and payment details, accompanied by columnar instructional text in vertical Japanese script. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 特別郵便切手壹臺紙 金五錢 日本圖 五 錢 5 SEN 朝鮮郵便貯金行 氏名 金 |
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| Comments |
Japan's small-denomination treasury notes of this period were a direct response to the coin shortage that developed during World War One. Rising global demand for metals, particularly nickel and copper, made it economically irrational to strike low-value coins, so the government turned to paper scrip for denominations that had previously existed only in metal.
P#26 belongs to a short-lived series that was withdrawn relatively quickly once postwar metal supplies stabilized. These circulated hard in daily transactions — rice sellers, street vendors, small change — and surviving examples without heavy soiling or tears are genuinely uncommon for that reason.