Coins of Japan: history and modernity, commemorative coins

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The first coins in the Land of the Rising Sun were brought from a neighboring state. Find out how the monetary system of Japan developed and what coins are currently operating in the country.

Coins of Japan: photo, history

The Land of the Rising Sun has maintained a closed policy from the outside world for centuries. Business relations were maintained only with China. In the 1st century, the Chinese brought yuan to the Japanese islands - round coins with a hole in the center. Their name was translated as "round object". At first, residents use Chinese money, and later they start minting Japan's own Zen coins, which completely copy the Chinese yuan.

Towards the end of the 10th century, the Japanese state began to weaken. The government stopped minting. Chinese money began to operate in Japan again.

From the 14th century, money of private coinage appeared, which was produced by we althy families. Private Zen did not have a single course, they were made from different metals and were not always of high quality. The country even has a practice to demand a replacement or a discount on low-quality coins.

Japanese yen

Private coinage has led to economic decline and chaos as the countrymoney of absolutely any denomination, form and material acted. In 1871, a single Japanese currency appeared on the market, which is still valid. Its name "yen" by analogy with the Chinese yuan means "circle" or "round object".

Japanese coins have acquired a clear round shape. One yen was divided into 100 parts of sen, which were divided into 10 rin. In the second half of the 20th century, the yen received the status of an international currency, and in 1954, the sen and rin went out of circulation.

In the beginning, new Japanese coins were tied to two metals at the same time. Thus, the value of the yen was determined as 25 g of silver and 1.5 g of gold. Later, the yen was pegged only to gold and the US dollar. One dollar equaled 360 yen.

Recently, the value of the Japanese currency has increased significantly, it is one of the world's reserve currencies.

Modern coins of Japan

The most common coins in circulation are 1, 5, 10, 100, 500 yen. The reverse shows the denomination and hieroglyphs indicating the year of issue. The obverse (front side) depicts various plants. For example, on the 500 yen coin there are designs of paulownia, citrus and bamboo, and the 100 coin is decorated with sakura.

Japan traditionally issues coins with a hole in the middle in denominations of 50 and 5 yen. 10 yen is a peculiar exception: the obverse depicts not a plant, but a pavilion in the Bedoin Monastery, surrounded by arabesques.

Among the paper bills in circulation are denominations of 1000, 5000, 10,000, so a 1 yen coin costs negligibly little, butactively used in the country. Numismatists are ready to pay from 20 rubles for 1 yen of 1990-2010, and a modern 100 yen coin costs from 40 Russian rubles for collectors.

The Japanese government carefully protects its currency from counterfeiting. One way to prevent coin fraud is to use the thinnest lines in the drawing, which are only visible when viewed from a certain angle.

Commemorative coins

In addition to everyday circulation banknotes, Japanese commemorative coins are issued. Usually they are timed to some significant events and dates in the country. The coins are produced in a limited edition, which makes them especially in demand among collectors. They operate on the same level as circulating, they can be used to pay for services and products.

There are about a hundred types of commemorative coins in denominations from 100 to 10,000 yen. Since 2008, the issue of 500 yen with the image of Japanese prefectures has begun. They began to be produced in honor of the 60th anniversary of Japanese autonomy, and about 16 pieces have already been produced. The material was zinc and nickel. The second series of similar commemorative coins is issued with a denomination of 1000 yen from silver. Their circulation was about 100,000 of each type.