1 Monme 'Fuji-hata' Pattern

The Meiji government's currency reform of 1869 involved a frantic search for viable coinage models as Japan dismantled the Tokugawa monetary system. This pattern — the "Fuji-hata," or Fuji flag type — was among several competing proposals evaluated before the new decimal system was finalized. It was never adopted.

Pattern coinage from this transitional window is exceptionally rare in any metal. Most were struck in extremely limited numbers purely for official inspection, not circulation trials.