Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
50 Sen - Meiji large type
| Issuer | Osaka Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1870-1871 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Y#4, JNDA#01-13 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 年四治明 · 本日大 · 錢 十 五 · (Translation: Great Japan · Year 4 of Meiji · 50 sen ·) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Osaka Mint |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Japan's first modern silver coinage, authorized under the New Currency Act of Meiji 3 (1870), was struck at the newly established Osaka Mint with machinery and technical expertise imported largely from Hong Kong's mint. The "large type" designation distinguishes this short-lived issue from the resized replacement that followed almost immediately — authorities determined the coins were being exported as bullion to China, where the silver-to-copper ratio made melting them profitable. Production halted and the specification was revised within two years.
The Osaka Mint had only opened in April 1871, meaning some of this issue predates the facility it is most associated with, struck instead under provisional arrangements.