The was a denomination of
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...
issued from 1951 to 1994 in paper form. Crudely made notes were first made in an unsuccessful attempt to curb inflation at the time, and the series as a whole is broken down into three different types of note. Only the last two have a known design which feature
Iwakura Tomomi on the obverse, and
Mount Fuji
, or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest ...
on the reverse. Starting in 1982, new
500 yen coin
The is the largest denomination of Japanese yen coin issued for circulation. These coins were first struck in 1982 as the vending machine industry needed a higher valued coin for use in their machines. The denomination had previously been iss ...
s began to be minted which eventually replaced their paper counterparts. While the production of 500 yen notes continued until 1984, all of the notes issued were officially withdrawn from circulation in 1994. Five hundred yen notes were allowed to retain their legal tender status, but they are now worth more on the collector's market than at face value.
Series
The first series of 500 yen notes (called "series B") were released on April 2, 1951 with improved security features such as
Watermark
A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...
s. This time these new notes appeared to have been more successful, as they were issued for almost 20 years until finally being withdrawn on January 4, 1971.
The final 500 yen notes are referred to as "series C" notes, and were issued starting on November 1, 1969 with new watermarks to enhance security. The issue came to an end on April 1, 1994 when 500 yen notes were withdrawn from circulation.
Gallery
File:Series B 500 Yen Bank of Japan note - front.jpg, 500 Yen "B series" note (front)
Issued 1951 to 1971
File:Series B 500 Yen Bank of Japan note - back.jpg, Back of the "B series" note
File:Series B 500 Yen Bank of Japan note - Watermark.jpg, Close-up of the watermark security feature used on the "B series"
File:Series C 500 Yen Bank of Japan note - front.jpg, 500 Yen "C series" note (front)
Issued 1969 to 1994
File:Series C 500 Yen Bank of Japan note - back.jpg, Back of the "C series" note
File:Series C 500 Yen Bank of Japan note - Watermark.jpg, Close-up of the watermark security feature used on the "C series"
File:Japanese500yenSeriesB-crop.jpg, Close-up of Iwakura Tomomi on the obverse of the "C series"
See also
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Banknotes of the Japanese yen
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500 euro note
The five-hundred-euro note (€500) is the highest-value euro banknote and was produced between the introduction of the euro (in its cash form) in 2002 until 2019. Since 27 April 2019, the banknote has no longer been issued by central banks in ...
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Hong Kong five hundred-dollar note
The Hong Kong five hundred dollar note was first issued in undated from the 1860s by the Oriental Bank Corporation, the Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) but a confirmed date for this bank is 1879, followed by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking ...
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Indian 500-rupee note
The Indian 500-rupee banknote (500) is a denomination of the Indian rupee. In 1987, the ₹500 note was introduced, followed by the ₹1,000 note in 2000 while ₹1 and ₹2 notes were discontinued in 1995. The current ₹500 banknote, in circu ...
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Large denominations of United States currency
Large denominations of United States currency greater than were circulated by the United States Treasury until 1969. Since then, U.S. dollar banknotes have only been issued in seven denominations: $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.
Ov ...
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Philippine five hundred peso note
The Philippine five hundred-peso note ( Filipino: ''Limandaang Piso'') (₱500) is a denomination of Philippine currency. Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and his wife, President Corazon Aquino are currently featured on the front side of the note, whi ...
References
{{Japanese currency and coinage
Japanese yen banknotes
Five-hundred-base-unit banknotes