Imperial Japan 1872-1945, P1-P60 Set 2
10 YEN 1930-31 ND ISSUE P40

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Note Details

Set Details
Note Description: Japan "U.S. Propaganda Leaflet"
10 Yen SB169-172 ND (1945)
Grade: 64
Country: JAP
Note Number: JAP40z
Signatures/
Vignettes:		 - Bank of Japan
Certification #: 8081259-002  
Owner: RedWolfWhiteEagle
Sets Competing: Imperial Japan 1872-1945, P1-P60 Set 2  Score: 1104
Imperial Japan Set #2  Score: 1104
Date Added: 2/2/2026
Research: See PMG's Census Report for this Note

Owner's Description

Based on information from Psywarrior and World War II archives

“The Military Intelligence Hawaiian Department under Lt. Colonel Richardson was given the assignment to prepare four facsimile notes with different messages to the Japanese people on the back ... Our planes showered the notes over the countryside, knowing that 50 percent would fall and lay face or money side up and entice the greed of the finders.”

The notes were reproduced by lithography to resemble the genuine note.

There are four parodies of the Japanese 10-yen Bank of Japan convertible note of 1930 (Pick-40). All of the parodies bear the serial number 450941 and the block number 1124 on the front. One major difference is the Okura Kaijin seal, printed in red on genuine bills, appears in the same brown color as part of the body of the phoenix on the counterfeit. On the back, the notes are found with four different propaganda messages and the code numbers 2009, 2016, 2017 and 2034.

The Office of War Information (OWI) was the U.S. government's central propaganda agency during World War II (June 1942 - Sept 1945).

The OWI fact sheet for banknote leaflet 2017 says:
“To disrupt the civilian economy in Japan by encouraging demand for commodities in excess of the supply. Skepticism regarding the worth of Japanese war bonds is known to exist in Japan.
This fact is used to encourage the purchase of supplies and the resulting disruption of the civilian economy.”

The script printed on back states:
“Japanese!
What good is money in the bank or in bonds? Buy articles you need now and buy articles for future use. The remaining supply is low. As a result of the bombing by America, many of your stores will close their doors while others will be open only for limited periods.Buy food, clothing, and other necessities to tide you over these periods.
Money will not satisfy your hunger or clothe you. Bonds will not satisfy a baby’s cry. A wise person would buy now, not save his money. The present is not a time for money. It is a period for goods.”

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