Country / Region: Japan
Continent: Asia
Denomination: 1,000 Yen
Year: 1963
Grade: Fine+
Face Value (as at 2012.06.17): about USD12.70
Pick: 96
Figure (Obverse): Itō Hirobumi
Figure (Reverse): The headquarters of Nippon Ginkō

Story: Probably the very first note that got me on this journey. My father used to work in a multi-national firm where he often had to go to Japan for short-term business trips. I remembered one time when my mother and I visited him in Tokyo, and a Kitazawa-san treated our family to dinner. Til now, the wagyu beef that night remained the best wagyu I had ever tasted :)

When my father returned from one of his numerous business trips, some time when I was four, he brought this note home, and somehow it ended up in my possession :) As you can see from the scan, the condition is nowhere near perfect, with brown stains on top and several folds on both sides. But this is and would always be a banknote that I will never give away.

By the way, Happy Father’s Day.

Interesting Fact: Hirobumi is the 1^st Prime Minister of Japan. He was one of the five長州五傑 (Chōshū Goketsu), chosen ones who studied in England from 1863 at University College London. It was illegal to leave Japan then as sakoku (鎖國) was still in place. As the story goes, Mr. Weigal, a manager of Jardine Matheson in Yokohama, disguised the young men as English sailors and brought them aboard on a vessel to Shanghai, where they were sheltered on an opium storage ship before dividing into two groups for the long voyage to London.

Supposedly, the captain of the first vessel took the boys onboard at 1,000 ryō (両) each. Exactly 100 years later, Hirobumi showed up on the national 1,000 yen banknote.

When did I shart looking at banknotes differently , as a thing of beauty rather than simply a medium of exchange?

Probably when I received my copy of 1000 Faroese krona, one of the most splendid banknotes in the world?

Probably when I found a 200 Franc note in the bottom of a drawer, something left unnoticed for years since I traveld to France as a kid in the early 1990s?

Or probably when I officially began my journey, a 1000 yen that my father brought home when I was four, after one of his business trips to Japan? In any case, I liked collecting banknotes since I was very, very young. At that time it was more like collecting random colored papers. This habit only started to take shape and become more organized in the past five years or so. I’m very glad that my beloved wife, Helen, is very supportive of what I do, which is not really an inexpensive hobby...

Unlike most other established collectors that Helen and I had met, my main focus is on post-1960 banknotes worldwide. Being an amateur (post-modern?) collector, my current goal is to first collect at least one full set from each country, and then we’ll see how it goes on from there.

This blog does not intend to present banknotes in a professional way; there are many of those out there already. I merely want to share my favorite things and my passion with my friends. Last but not least, I would like to thank Anthony Lee, a professional collector, a dealer and a friend of ours. Due to his sharing I have resumed this meaningful hobby, and started building my small stash of great beauties.

Enjoy and feel free to leave us any comments or suggestions.