1/2 Yen - Meiji Copper pattern

Pattern coinage from the Osaka Mint's earliest operational years, when Japanese authorities were still negotiating the balance between Western minting technology — imported wholesale from abroad, including machinery and foreign advisors — and the denominations appropriate for domestic commerce. The half-yen copper pattern was never adopted; the silver half-yen entered circulation instead, leaving copper trial pieces from this period as production artifacts of an unresolved monetary debate rather than a failed coin.