50 Sen - Shōwa

Japan's 50 sen silver coinage of this period was progressively debased as military expenditure consumed an increasing share of the national budget through the 1930s. This .720 fine alloy had already represented a step down from the earlier .800 standard, and the type was discontinued entirely in 1938 when wartime aluminum and base-metal substitutes displaced silver from everyday coinage altogether.

Dies for this series were produced at the Osaka Mint, which had operated under British technical supervision since its founding in 1871 — though by this decade it was entirely self-sufficient in both tooling and assay.