Modern coinage issued by the current government of Japan
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Modern Japanese coins are considered those minted since 1870, and the primary focus of the Japan section on this site. The coins are listed and organized in the Japanese Numismatic Dealers Association catalog. Section 1 of the JNDA catalog starts with the 'Modern Type Coins', beginning with the gold 20 yen coin and following each denomination in descending order. Section 2 is labeled 'Current coins'. Section 3 is for commemorative coins and Section 4 contains the Prefecture series, with several more sections following (coin sets, occupation money, currency etc).
"Current coins" is a bit of a misnomer in the Western sense of the word. Current does not equate to circulating. The term 'current' is a legalistic one and referring to the current government and is not to imply 'currently circulating'. The shift occurs somewhere between 1948-1950. Post war coinage (that was minted) was labeled 'Government of Japan' as there really wasn't a formal title. The current government was established as a constitutional monarchy, with the constitution of 1947. Subsequent coinage bore the inscription 'Country of Japan'. In addition the reading on the coins changed from the traditional right to left, to the Western style left to right.
There are two transition pieces (the brass 1 yen and the 50 sen) which both bear the 'Country of Japan' designation but are not cataloged with the 'current coinage'. The 50 sen retains the right to left reading. The one yen was minted through 1950 and even has the left to right directionals, but for whatever reason is not moved to the 'current coins section'. I'm sure I've overlooked the reason in one of my books, and will update accordingly. I SUSPECT it is because the 50 sen and 1 yen denominations were in existence prior to the new government, but the 5 yen is an entirely new denomination as a non-gold piece. Even so, it does seem that the two could have been included in the 'current' category given they were issued under the auspices of the new government.
The currently circulating 1 yen has not changed other than the era designation. The 5 and 10 yen both have a minor design change--a lettering style for the 5 yen and changing from a reeded edge to a plain edge for the 10 yen--which was of such a minor degree that both could still be found in circulation. In fact I did pull examples of each from circulation while living in Japan in the 2000s. The 500 yen had modifications done for security purposes.
However the 5, 50, and 100 yen all saw distinct changes in design and even metal. Earlier 50 and 100 yen coins were silver in their initial iterations. All three have designs that are no longer circulated but are designated as 'current' in the JNDA.
In the 'current' listings the 5 yen was minted starting in 1948 and underwent a significant design change after only two years. It was followed by the minting of the 10 yen in 1951, then both the small aluminum 1 yen and a silver 50 yen in 1955. The silver 100 yen arrived in 1957 and the 500 yen was a latecomer in 1982.
Commemoratives were first seen in 1964, honoring the Tokyo Olympics. Since then there has been a steady increase in issues with base metal denominations of 100 and 500 yen, silver (500-10,000 yen) and gold coins (10,000-100,000 yen) issued celebrating various events or landmarks. 2015 and 2016 also saw the release of a 4 coin colorized silver and gold series commemorating the 'Great Eastern Earthquake Reconstruction project'.
The 'prefecture series' with a 1000 yen colorized silver coin and a bi-metallic (base) 500 yen issued 4 per year starting in 2009, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 'Enforcement of Local Autonomy Law'.
"Current coins" is a bit of a misnomer in the Western sense of the word. Current does not equate to circulating. The term 'current' is a legalistic one and referring to the current government and is not to imply 'currently circulating'. The shift occurs somewhere between 1948-1950. Post war coinage (that was minted) was labeled 'Government of Japan' as there really wasn't a formal title. The current government was established as a constitutional monarchy, with the constitution of 1947. Subsequent coinage bore the inscription 'Country of Japan'. In addition the reading on the coins changed from the traditional right to left, to the Western style left to right.
There are two transition pieces (the brass 1 yen and the 50 sen) which both bear the 'Country of Japan' designation but are not cataloged with the 'current coinage'. The 50 sen retains the right to left reading. The one yen was minted through 1950 and even has the left to right directionals, but for whatever reason is not moved to the 'current coins section'. I'm sure I've overlooked the reason in one of my books, and will update accordingly. I SUSPECT it is because the 50 sen and 1 yen denominations were in existence prior to the new government, but the 5 yen is an entirely new denomination as a non-gold piece. Even so, it does seem that the two could have been included in the 'current' category given they were issued under the auspices of the new government.
The currently circulating 1 yen has not changed other than the era designation. The 5 and 10 yen both have a minor design change--a lettering style for the 5 yen and changing from a reeded edge to a plain edge for the 10 yen--which was of such a minor degree that both could still be found in circulation. In fact I did pull examples of each from circulation while living in Japan in the 2000s. The 500 yen had modifications done for security purposes.
However the 5, 50, and 100 yen all saw distinct changes in design and even metal. Earlier 50 and 100 yen coins were silver in their initial iterations. All three have designs that are no longer circulated but are designated as 'current' in the JNDA.
In the 'current' listings the 5 yen was minted starting in 1948 and underwent a significant design change after only two years. It was followed by the minting of the 10 yen in 1951, then both the small aluminum 1 yen and a silver 50 yen in 1955. The silver 100 yen arrived in 1957 and the 500 yen was a latecomer in 1982.
Commemoratives were first seen in 1964, honoring the Tokyo Olympics. Since then there has been a steady increase in issues with base metal denominations of 100 and 500 yen, silver (500-10,000 yen) and gold coins (10,000-100,000 yen) issued celebrating various events or landmarks. 2015 and 2016 also saw the release of a 4 coin colorized silver and gold series commemorating the 'Great Eastern Earthquake Reconstruction project'.
The 'prefecture series' with a 1000 yen colorized silver coin and a bi-metallic (base) 500 yen issued 4 per year starting in 2009, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 'Enforcement of Local Autonomy Law'.