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1/4 Yen - Meiji Copper Pattern
| Issuer | Imperial Japanese Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1870 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
| Obverse lettering | 年 三 治 明 · 本 日 大 · 一 分 四 · (Translation: Great Japan · Year 3 of Meiji · One Fourth ·) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
This pattern was produced at the Osaka Mint in 1870 during the foundational reorganization of Japan's currency system under the New Currency Act of that same year — the legislation that formally abolished the chaotic feudal coinage and established a decimal yen-based system. The copper quarter-yen denomination was ultimately never adopted for circulation; the fractional coinage that entered production settled on different denominational divisions.
The Osaka Mint had only opened in April 1871, making 1870-dated copper patterns among the earliest experimental strikes from that facility, produced while British engineers from the Hong Kong Mint were still overseeing installation of the machinery.