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1 Yen in Gold
| Issuer | Bank of Taiwan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1904 |
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| Value | 1 Yen |
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| Obverse description | Black on yellow-orange underprint, with an intricate vertical composition centered on two confronting dragons in intaglio below a pair of phoenix birds, all rendered in fine engraved detail. A central oval cartouche carries the Chinese characters for the Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行) beneath the denomination inscription in Chinese, flanked by dense guilloche borders and ornamental roundels at each corner bearing the numeral 1. Chinese characters run vertically along both lateral margins, and a red seal impression appears at lower center. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Purple on plain paper, with a vertical format dominated by a large central medallion enclosing the numeral 1 within a pearl-bordered circle set against a fine lathe-work background. An elaborate acanthus-scroll vignette frames the medallion, above which the title ONE YEN IN GOLD. appears in bold gothic lettering. Below the medallion, a circular panel carries the English promise text of the Bank of Taiwan, while Chinese characters in a vertical column occupy the upper right, and a further Chinese inscription runs horizontally along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Taiwan was established in 1899 as a quasi-central bank for Japan's newly acquired colony, and its notes were explicitly denominated in gold to distinguish them from the silver-standard currency circulating on the mainland. The "in Gold" designation was a deliberate policy instrument, not merely a description — it pegged Taiwanese currency to Japan's gold standard following the Meiji monetary reforms, and gave the bank's paper legal authority across both Taiwan and, critically, the Fujian coastal trade zone where Japanese commercial interests were expanding aggressively.
The 1904 date places this note at the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, a period when colonial financial infrastructure was under considerable strain.