Help identifying coins (Chinese/Japanese?)

drthunder

I think that these are Chinese or Japanese but that's all I really know about these coins. Any help would be great. Thanks.

satootoko

The first one is a "cash" coin, of which there are literally thousands of varieties. The very first step in attribution is to look at the side you didn't post a picture of, as the markings (or lack thereof) on the back can usually identify whether the item is Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Annamise (now Vietnam), or otherwise. These coins were cast throughout Asia for hundreds of years. If you decide to post the picture, please try to lighten it up and increase the contrast a bit to assist those of us with aged eyes.

The second one is a cu-ni ¥50 Japanese coin, Krause number Y#81, minted from 1967-88, and then with date changes as Y#101.1 and 101.2 from 1989 to the present time. If my eyes aren't deceiving me, the arabic numbers under the "50" are "45", which would make the date Showa 45, or 1970 on the western calendar. The only other possibility is 55 (1980), and I'm pretty sure that's not it. Either way it would be worth a buck or so Uncirculated, and considerably less in its apparent condition.

The third one is a brass ¥5 Japanese coin, Krause number Y#72a, minted from 1959-1989, and with minor differences as Y#72 from 1949-1958, Y#96.1 in 1989, and Y#96.2 from 1990 to the present. It is dated Showa 43 - 1968 on the Western calendar, and catalogs at a whopping 15¢ Uncirculated.

drthunder

Thanks for the info! I'm getting back into collecting and I'm going through all of the coins that I have. Some of the foriegn coins are hard to identify. I'll try to post a better picture of the cash coins. I have two that appear to be identical and I believe that they are Chinese, not sure though.

sumnom

The first coin is indeed Chinese, minted during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty, 1662-1732. I would have to see the other side to tell you more about the coin.

drthunder

Here is a scan of the back of the coin. Thanks for the info!

sumnom

It was minted by the Board of Revenue in Beijing.