.9999 Gold Foil 10,000 Yen Fantasy Note
This week's Fantasy Friday takes us into the world of gaming history — and one of the most iconic video game characters ever created. Princess Zelda from Nintendo's legendary The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gets the gold foil banknote treatment — and the result is one of the most detailed fantasy notes we've featured.
The Note at a Glance
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Issuer | Nippon Ginko (Fantasy/Novelty) |
| Denomination | 10,000 Yen |
| Material | .9999 Gold Foil |
| Design | Fantasy / Novelty Collector Note |
| Theme | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild |
| Comes With | Collector display holder |
The Legend of Zelda — 40 Years of Gaming History
The Legend of Zelda franchise was created by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and first released in 1986. Over four decades it has become one of the most celebrated video game series in history, spanning dozens of titles and selling over 125 million copies worldwide.
Breath of the Wild, released in 2017 for the Nintendo Switch, is widely regarded as one of the greatest video games ever made — winning numerous Game of the Year awards and redefining the open-world genre. Princess Zelda plays a central role in the game's story, and her design in Breath of the Wild — seen on this note — became one of the most iconic versions of the character in the franchise's history.
The Obverse — Princess Zelda
The obverse features a full-figure portrait of Princess Zelda in her Breath of the Wild design — complete with pointed Hylian ears, royal armour, and intricate detail across the entire .9999 gold foil surface. The The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild logo dominates the centre, with the iconic Master Sword crossed through the Hylian Shield beneath it.
Japanese text reads 日本銀行券 (Bank of Japan Note) and 壱万円 (10,000 Yen) — styled faithfully after the real Japanese 10,000 Yen note format, giving this fantasy piece an authentic banknote feel. The denomination 10000 appears in all four corners.
A Closer Look — Princess Zelda Portrait
The close-up of Princess Zelda reveals the extraordinary detail packed into this gold foil note — her Hylian ears, crown, and ornate armour all rendered with precision against the shimmering .9999 gold surface. The ZELDA name is etched into the lower right corner.
The Logo — Master Sword and Hylian Shield
The centrepiece of the obverse is the The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild logo — rendered in deep red with the Master Sword and Hylian Shield overlaid in relief against the gold foil background. The level of detail on a foil note this size is genuinely impressive.
The Reverse — Breath of the Wild Scene
The reverse showcases a dramatic full-colour scene from Breath of the Wild — featuring Link, Princess Zelda, and the four Champions against a sweeping Hyrulean landscape. The colour printing over the gold foil base creates a depth and richness that photographs struggle to fully capture.
NIPPON GINKO and the denomination 10,000 YEN frame the scene, maintaining the banknote format throughout. Like the Ceylon gold foil we featured last week, these notes are notoriously difficult to photograph — the reflective metallic surface means the note always looks even more impressive in hand than in any image.
A Closer Look — The Reverse Scene
The close-up of the reverse scene highlights Princess Zelda surrounded by the Champions — Urbosa, Mipha, Revali, and Daruk — with Link standing in silhouette against the dramatic Hyrulean sky. The colour saturation and detail on the gold foil background is remarkable for a note of this format.
It comes in a collector display holder — ready to display immediately without any additional supplies needed.
Drop a comment below — are you a Zelda fan? A gold foil collector? Both? Would love to hear from you! 👇
1 comment
Amy Lavigne
I have to admit I am a little “in between” the Zelda crave. A little too young for when it was previously popular and a little too old for it’s new boom in popularity. But there’s something so pieceful about the new games that I really want to get into them and see for myself what all the hype is about. I am sure any Link for or fan of the game in general would love these.