50 Sen - Meiji large type

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.