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Japan: One Year, Two Eras

HigashiyamaHigashiyama Posts: 2,210 ✭✭✭✭✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum

It's a fun time to search for coins in Japan. As of May, 2019, following the Heisei Emperor's abdication, the era changed from Heisei (1989 - 2019) to Reiwa (2019 - ).

As a result, for each denomination, there are two coins corresponding to 2019.

Here are the 2019 500 yen coins for the new era and the old:

Higashiyama

Comments

  • TitusFlaviusTitusFlavius Posts: 321 ✭✭✭

    Cool "changeover pair"! I like figuring out the dates on Japanese coins, assuming I remember which direction to read them in, lol.

    "Render therfore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." Matthew 22: 21
  • pruebaspruebas Posts: 4,582 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @TitusFlavius said:
    Cool "changeover pair"! I like figuring out the dates on Japanese coins, assuming I remember which direction to read them in, lol.

    I always thought R->L until after WWII. Then L->R. But it could be slightly more nuanced than that.

  • StorkStork Posts: 5,206 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 9, 2020 7:04AM

    Either way, the nen character, 年, is the year designator and comes at the end of the date. Look for it and you know if you are going right to left vs. left to right. The switchover does correspond with the changing government, mostly year 23, with an exception. (Showa year 23 that is).

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