Featured Inadvertent date set--Japan 10 sen Aluminum Bronze 1938-1940

Every time I see one of these, I forget I have one, so over the years I seem to have managed to acquire a complete set of these. It's only 3 years, so it's not much of an achievement. The Showa 15 (1940) seems to be the least common of the three.

I have kind of a 10 sen coin addiction. Every time I see one in a junk bin I can't help picking one up. I probably have ~200 by now for a grand total of a little over $20.


It would be nice to complete a base metal 10 yen date set from Taisho 9 (1920) to Showa 21 (1946). Here's what a random distribution has gotten me so far:

Taisho Copper-Nickel: Taisho 9-15 = 1920-26
I have all but Taisho 13, which wasn't minted. (Please ignore that I accidentally put another year 11 where 15 should be. I do have a 15 also.)

Showa Copper-Nickel: Showa 2-7 = 1927-1932
I have 2, 3 and 7. 5 Doesn't exist, so I need years 4 and 6, which are quite a bit smaller mintages. Showa 6 is the hardest date of these.

Showa Nickel: Showa 8-12 = 1933-1937
I have all but year 8. Year 8 is the smallest mintage by quite a bit, but looks findable.

Showa Aluminum-Bronze: Showa 13-15 = 1938-1940
3 for 3!

Showa Aluminum: Showa 15-18 = 1940-1943
There was a weight and thickness reduction on Showa 16 from 1.5 to 1.2 g. I think I have both types from that year, so I have the full set.

Showa Tin-Zinc: Single year type, Showa 19 = 1944
I have this one. It's plentiful but ugly.

Showa Aluminum (post-war type): Showa 20-21 = 1945-1946
I only have Showa 46 (1946) but 1945 is not scarce.

There are also several types of red and white porcelain ones from 1945, none of which have I seen in person. I do have a red porcelain 1 sen, but it's cracked.

Anyway, if you like 10 sen coins, please post one!

 

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The rest of my 10 sen collection: Silvers were made from Meiji 3 (1870) to Taisho 6 (1917). Meiji 34 and 35 are scarce dates which cost hundreds of dollars. Year 13 costs thousands and supposedly only had 77 pieces minted.

Most cost me about $5 packaged. If I'm lucky, sometimes I can find one in a foreign silver bin for melt value.
Packaged: Meiji 27, 28, 30 (x2), 43
Loose: Year 10, 28, 32, 33
Looks like Year 10 is a scarcer date--I should put it in a flip.
None of the Taisho silver 10 sen are particularly scarce, but for some reason I don't have a single one.

 

This is how it starts! First a type set, then date runs, then the obsession really takes off! Personally I never met a 50 sen double phoenix I didn't want but the 10 sen is fun series.

One of my favorites. It was supposed to go into my Japan Type Dansco but it became one of many I just couldn't bear to crack.



And I like this one...not much off center but still fun. Any significant off centers go for crazy bids in some of the Japanese auctions. Check you hoard!

 

I have several Japan 10 sen here are a couple of them 1927-28.

 

Those are cool. I don’t have any but my junk bin addiction is Swiss 10 and 20 rappen. So I understand!

Nice collection of those you have. We all have our little quirks, don’t we?

 

At a distance, this one looks like perlage!

 

You got me looking for what I have. Turns out I don't have many nice examples of 10 sen of this era

1922 10 sen


1936 10 sen


1939 10 sen


1943 10 sen


1944 10 sen


1945 10 sen - looks proof like

 

How's this one? Looks like the hole is touching the edge of the circle pointing in the upward direction. A lot of these Taisho-Era 10 sen look like the hole is slightly off-center, if it's not my imagination. But this was the most obvious example.

 

The evolution of the Aluminum 10 sen:
This series went from Showa 15 (1940) to Showa 18 (1943). There were two weight reductions along the way, from 1.5 g (year 15-16) to 1.2 g (year 16-18) to 1.0 g (year 18 only). The diameter remained at 22 mm, but you can feel the weight difference in hand (barely) as the thickness was reduced. I took an edge-on photo in an attempt to capture the thickness variation.
L: Showa 16, 1.5 g C: Showa 16, 1.2 g L: Showa 18, 1.0 g

 

And the binder pages in which I am trying to organize them:
Back when the 10 sen coins were all in a loose pile, I didn't really care which dates were in there. But now that I've tried to organize them, I feel compelled to try to fill in the gaps. For the base-metal 10 sen (Taisho 9 to Showa 21 = 1920 to 1946) I am missing a few dates and types:
Showa 4, 6 copper-nickel
Showa 8 nickel
Showa 18 aluminum, 1.2 g type. I have the 1.0 g type.
Showa 20 various ceramic types
Showa 20 post-war aluminum. I only have the Showa 21 of this type.

Time to start hunting!

 

Definitely off center, but I think the real 'money' ones in the Japanese auctions are more than 25% off center. This is my best and is still not quite what I see getting the big bids.



And the more modern the more desirable...quality control is such that it's just not that common to get something leaving the mint with a big error.

Here is a crazy double hole punched error...and you can see the price range it went for! https://en.auction-world.co/xpai/lot_24-319.html

 

Got two more silver 10 sen types today.
Does this make for a complete silver 10 sen type set (not counting minor variants and patterns)?
Japan, Meiji 3 (1870), 10 Sen (Single-year type)


Japan, Taisho 6 (1917) 10 Sen


And here are 4 types together. From L: Meiji 3, 10, 43, Taisho 6
Sorry, the last one is mis-oriented on the top row. Sun interior lines should be horizontal. It's hard to tell with these types which way is up, and my eyes are a bit too old to focus on that kind of detail up close. I only notice on the photos later when the coins are already put away.

 

Depends on how much you want to slice/dice the types. Definitely a good type set IMO>

Basically the designs boil down to three types depending on the major design features of the obverse and reverse:

Dragon/sunburst (Meiji 3/1870, with 2 varieties, the deep/shallow scales)
Dragon/character (Meiji 6-39/1873-1906, with a couple varieties)
Sunburst/character (Meiji 40-Taisho 6/1907-1917)

Krause breaks the last group by the regnal eras, Meiji and Taisho. The JNDA does not separate them however and they bear the same catalog number. A matter of taste. The design is the same, but the Emperor (and thus the era) changes.