Japanese coins: 1876 - 1948 (pix included)

hamiltonjh

I'm not good at takin pix to show a coins true luster.
These were also taken in their 2x2, so most of the scratches you see are not on the coin, but on the plastic.

1876 1 sen. almost as big as 50 cent piece. On the reverse, the dark areas are where tape was that had it stuck to a piece of cardboard.


1922 5 sen: This coin is very shiny, the pic just doesnt show it. About the size of a dime, a little bigger. Silver in color


1940 5 sen: Very bright coin. Not as "dirty" as it looks. The dark spots are toning, not dirt. Very smooth in fields, I would say it rates high on the grading scale. bright yellowish color.


1948 50 sen: same size as above. A bit bigger than a dime

sumnom

Nice coins, Ham. I have to say that I do like the flavor of circulated coins.

The dragon pattern one and two sen coins are great. I have a complete set of the one sen and an almost complete set of the two sen. Theay are way cool. I especially like the ones that are a chocolate brown.

The 1940 5 sen is nice too. I rather like the designs of all the Japanese coins from the late 1930's or so. Since the designs change so often in that period, there is a refreshing variety of types from that period.

sumnom

FYI, the bit of writing along the top of edge of the reverse of the one sen piece is in Classical Chinese and literally reads, "Take 100 pieces [and] exchange [for] one yen." I wonder if this was written on early Meiji coins because the decimal system was new at that point.

sumnom

Sorry to keep posting but I really like these coins. The 1948 sen is interesting if you note the change in the name of Japan from Dai Nihon (Dai Nippon) to Nihon Koku, or from "Great Japan," a name associated with the empire, to the "Country of Japan," a title that lowers the status of the nation from an empire to just another country. On the coins minted in the immediate post-war period, during the American occupation, the legend reads "Nihon Seifu" or Government of Japan. Even though the American occuaption offcially lasted until 1952, by 1948 the Japanese were largely governing themselves, so the 1948 50 sen piece does not bear the "Government of Japan" legend.

Also, the 1948 piece still uses the old kanji forms, showing that the kanji reforms had not yet been put into place (note the "koku" of "nihon koku").

Another interesting point about this 50 sen piece is that even though the name of the state has been demoted from an empire to a country, the imperial reign period is still employed to express the date (43rd year of the Showa reign). Thus, we might go so far as to say that this coin expresses some of the tensions implicit in post-war Japanese national identity.

There is so much history in the legends. This is one reason why I find coin collecting so interesting. Coins are not only simple media of exchange or bearers of exchange value, they are also the bearers of a variety of socio-political texts, both written and pictorial. There is so much to see if you look carefully.

I think there may be some people here that know more about this than I do so if I have made any mistakes, please point them out!

hamiltonjh

I'm glad you like them so much Sumnom. I'm really getting in to Japanese coins, but unfortunately, we'll be leaving here in the next few months probably, so i'm not going to be able to keep getting them as easily.


You know your Japanese (Asian) history. You taught me some cool things just in this one post. THANKS!!

I'd ask you what 2 sen coins you need to complete your collection, but I have VERY few, so I have what you do and not what you need. If you want though, just in case, tell me (or PM me for future reference) which ones you need. Maybe by some chance of fate I DO have something you could use in the quality you're lookin for.

boz

Nice coins ham. Particularly like the detail on the 1922.

sumnom

Ham,

I left my collection in the states and didn't bring my want list with me (stupid but I forgot some things while packing) so I don't remember which 2 sen pieces are missing. Thanks for the offer though.

Are you heading to Minot?

There are plenty of good Japanese coins on e-bay and even a lot of coin stores in the US that I have been to seem to have a good selesction of Japanese stuff.

hamiltonjh

Oh yeah...you told me before your collection is in the states...sorry. I forgot.

Dont know if we're goin to Minot or not. We'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks.


Yeah, I know I could get some on ebay and stateside dealers. Point was I like getting Japanese coins IN Japan. But, I'll still get some here and there when we're stateside again.

sumnom

I know what you mean. I like to buy Korean coins in Korea as well but some of them are a lot more expensive here then in the US.

hamiltonjh

Yeah, prices here are nuts too. I could sell my morgans and get a huge profit. But, thats not what it's about

Askari

Those are some nice coins and you take a mean photo! I really like that 1922 5 Sen. I don't think I've ever seen one before.

hamiltonjh

That 1922 5 sen is so much nicer when you're hoding it. Each little "fan" has lines thru them..very fine, small lines. Definately one of my favorites.

Japan has such a variety of coins....very fun to keep discovering new ones.

AuldFartte

Very cool coins, Hambooger

And the photography ain't bad, either

sumnom

Ham, what other coins have you picked up in Japan so far. Do some show and tell.

hamiltonjh

I'll have to go thru my stuff to see if there's anything interesting. if you recall, I won a single lot from a Japanese guy consisting of 160 coins. I have yet to really go through it to see whats there. On my next break, I'll try to do that and see if there's anything worthy.

sumnom

Cool.

theboz11

Nice ones