JAPANESE WAR CRIMINALS A terrific signed one dollar bill ("short snorter"), an American one dollar bill officially stamped "HAWAII" twice on the front with a larger such stamp on verso, with special brown serial numbers and federal seal, signed by at least 19 Japanese war criminals of World War II, tried in Tokyo in 1946. Among those signing are HIDEKI TOJO, Japanese prime minister, signing in Japanese and English, KENRYO SATO , army commander in Indochina, HIROSHI OSHIMA, Ambassador to Germany, KUNIAKI KOISO, Governor-General of Korea and Prime Minister, TAKASUMI OKA, Deputy Minister of the Navy; he was most responsible for the mistreatment of Allied POWs especially the "hellships", SHUNROKU HATA, Field Marshal, Commander-in-Chief of Japanese expeditionary army in China, Mamoru Shigemitsu, Foreign Minister, 1943-45, represented Japan in the surrender ceremonies on the USS MISSOURI, KOICHI KIDO, Minister of Education, Welfare, and Home Affairs, NAOKI HOSHINO , head of the Opium Monopoly Bureau which made addicts of tens thousands of Chinese, all for a hefty profit, SADAO ARAKI, Minister of the Army, Minister of Education, and leader of the "Imperial Way Faction", TOSHIO SHIRATORI, Ambassador to Italy, a rabid supporter of military expansion who forged the Tripartite Pact, HEITARA KIMURA, army commander in Bunna where he was responsible for the brutalization of Allied POWs especially to build the Siain-Bunna Railway, AKIRA MUTO, Deputy Chief of Staff of Japanese Central China Army, responsible for the "Rape of Nanking" and atrocities in Indonesia, KENRYO SATO , Chief of the Bureau of Military Affairs and divisional commander in Indonesia and Burma, persecuting the Allied POWs, JIRO MINAMI, Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, SEISHIRO ITAGAKI, Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army, and Minister of the Army, TEEICHI SUZUKI, an expert on China who masterminded Japan's wartime economy and was involved in drug trafficking in China, SHIGENORI TOGO, Foreign Minister, 1941-42, 1945, being responsible for negotiations with the U.S. before the Pearl Harbor attack, and perhaps one or two others unidentified or illegible. The note bears some soiling at right on recto, five or six signatures have "bled" from dampness, yet perhaps only two or three are illegible at this time, with one or two written against a dark background and difficult to decipher. Nevertheless, with a little effort we were able to make out the above, the great majority of which were easily distinguishable. Obtained by an American guard during the 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Trials. Many of these criminals (and some of these signatures are very rare) went to the gallows, others spent long terms in prison, a few stayed in jail for a short time. As for the banknote itself: in 1942 special World War II currency was issued. For circulated in Hawaii, "HAWAII" was overprinted on the front and back of the notes and the seal and serial numbers were changed to brown. This was done so that the currency could be declared worthless in case of a successful Japanese invasion of the islands. A rare relic, tough to replace! And we should note that a flag signed by many of these same individuals recently sold for in excess of $13,000! $2,500-3,500