Japan, Fire Damaged 50 Sen Note

 These 50 sen notes were produced in Japan during World War II. This particular group of banknotes curiously have fire damage, perhaps from an attempt at destroying the bills after they were made defunct in 1948 or possibly even burns sustained during the Allied firebombing of Tokyo in 1945.

Operation Meetinghouse was the codename for the firebombing of Tokyo by the U.S. Air Force, conducted on the nights of March 9th through 10th, 1945. It was the single most destructive bombing raid in human history. Most of the buildings in the Japanese capital were made of wood, and the attack destroyed 16 square miles of Tokyo—killing 100,000 civilians and leaving over a million more homeless.

These notes come in two variants, the 1938 version showing Mount Fuji and the 1942 - 1945 version showing Yasukuni Shrine (which ironically commemorates Japanese war deaths). The damaged bills are a harrowing reminder of a dark chapter in human history.

Notes come with an archival grade currency protection sleeve. A Certificate of Authenticity is also included.