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In the sixth episode of the second season of _Darker than Black_ , Hei hung up
a payphone.

[![Payphone
image](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dzYxY.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dzYxY.png)

On this payphone there is some symbol. They’re supposedly in Russia; however,
the Russian currency symbol is ₽. What does this symbol mean? I doubt they
would make up a currency since they also reference the CIA and MI6.


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japanese-language darker-than-black
What does this symbol represent on this payphone?


That's just the Japanese word "yen", written as a word 円 _en_ rather than with
the currency symbol ¥.


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That's the kanji 円, pronounced "hen" or "yen", which means both "circle" and,
as you might have guessed from the pronunciation, the japanese currency.

The ¥ symbol is the international symbol of the currency used for trade deals
and in tourist destinations inside Japan, while 円 is the more common and
japanese way to refer to local money.


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Not only is that the symbol for Japanese yen, the phone itself is also
something utterly Japanese, a [pink public
phone](http://japanvisitor.blogspot.ch/2010/09/public-telephones-in-
japan.html):

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/TU9y5.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/TU9y5.jpg)

They're very iconic (somewhat ubiquitous decades ago when you'd see them in
shops or restaurants) but also very outdated (They only take 10 yen coins
which is not much at all). If there are any still being operated then as
something between a curiosity and a "living fossil".

So basically, if that scene is supposed to play in Russia, it's either some
sort of joke or the animators were very sloppy, maybe reusing a generic "using
a public phone" sequence.


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