I haven't been actively collecting banknotes but have a small stash of them hiding somewhere. I came across them recently as I have been cleaning up and decided to scan them. This is one of them: Released more than 100 years ago around 1885, it features Daikoku at right sitting on rice bales. In Japan, he's better known as the God of wealth. More information can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikoku-ten As of why I got this - last year I visited Japan and saw this. This is not my photo: http://muza-chan.net/japan/index.php/blog/daikokuten-magical-hammer I'm pretty certain you weren't allowed photography in this area... The saying is if you rub his belly, you might rub some of his fortune onto yourself. Well I don't know if that ever happened but though it was pretty neat to have a banknote that features something that you checked out. But again, I don't know how old this statue is. Could be a few decades old, century old or just a few years as it might get repainted over a few years. Nevertheless, it's the oldest banknote in my collection right now. I don't think it is a common banknote even in this condition. Back to imaging the massive hoard of banknotes and coins that I have... just too many to process! (I'm running out of time to even work on my website for starters!)
Thanks for the lesson in Japanese mythology! And yes, according to my Standard Catalog, this note is listed at $125 just in Good condition. It's a keeper!
