Year 7 (1874) Japan One Yen... Am I reading this right???

If this does turn out to be year 7.... this apparently is a heck of a coin... at least according to the krause catalog. So am I reading this right as year 7?

 

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I am trying to learn this.

But the symbol for year doesn't look right?

Nor does what I assume you see as 7?

And where is the title Meiji?

Finally, would one yen, .900 be on a coin of that age?

 

Oh, and wasn't the date printed right to left until after WW2?

 

this is how I see it

 

Yes, you are reading it correctly.

It is "Meiji 7 year".

Gary

 

Sorry, I have to disagree. It looks like 年 to me.

Again, the calligraphy on the coin is a typical rendition of 七. In fact, it is the more common version seen on these coins, although some have a character with a shorter, fatter horizontal stroke

The two characters bracketing "MEIJI" on LostDutchman's picture.

And every year thereafter through Taisho 3 (1914), the final year of production for silver yen. The "416" refers to the weight of the coin in grains.

Yes, the changeover (with one minor exception) occurred in Showa 23 (1948). On the OP's coin, the date is correctly read right to left, as shown on LD's pic.

My basis for uncertainty whether it is genuine or one of the better executed Chinese "replicas" has to do with the position of the dragon's tail, ever so slightly overlapping the fourth scale, when it should only extend a short distance beyond the third. I'd also be interested in learning the exact diameter, which should be 38.6mm, not the 38.1mm of later years; and weight, which should be 26.96g.

If genuine, the clockwise direction of the spiral on the pearl in the dragon's claws makes it Type II, the less valuable of the two varieties recognized by Krause, (and the least valuable of the three varieties recognized by the Japanese Numismatic Dealers Assn). Krause's 2008 XF values of $1,250 (Type I) and $1,200 (Type II) are somewhat low. On the other hand the 2010 JNDA comparable catalog values of ¥300,000 (~$3,300 - Type I) and ¥200,000 (~$2,200 - Type II) are a little on the optimistic side, although the 3:2 relationship between them is much more accurate IMHO.

 

Thanks for the response.

This coin comes from the collection of a friend and I can personally verify its ownership by him for more then 30 years. But with the very large amount of counterfeits of these pieces I do plan to submit it to NGC for verification. Being a student of counterfeit coins if this coin is not genuine it will be the best fake I have seen no matter the country or denomination.

 

Now with Krause in hand I can see what you are saying is correct.

I wonder if I'll ever recognize this stuff without a book in hand!?!

That the same calligraphy variably has closed or open parts drives me crazy.

Thanks for another lesson!

Aren't you going to measure the coin so that hontonai can finish his assessment LD?

 

I unfortunately don't have a coin caliper but I do have a nice scale that weighs in grains. You can see that it weighs exactly right.

 

I also just took the coin and sat a Morgan silver dollar on top of it. It looks to be almost the same size... but the yen is just very slightly larger. I tried to get a picture of this but I wasn't able to get a good picture of what I was seeing.

 

This enable a reasonable estimate:

http://www.jpscorner.com/Ring_Gauge.htm


Come on- Break down and buy a caliper!

 

That's a very nice coin: solid XF with great toning !

 

Just as an update this piece went to NGC yesterday.

 

NGC just posted the grade and this coin was graded AU55.

 

#1. Hearty congratulations on the key date coin!

#2. It was nice meeting with you in Orlando!

 

Got it back in the mail this morning.

 

Hi guys, I am new to numismatics and have much to learn.

I want to buy this decorative enamelled brooch coin (my girlfriend wants it actually) but I dont know what it is worth or how to look it up? Can anyone help me with deciphering the year?

http://watchco.vicnet.net.au/21644.jpg

http://watchco.vicnet.net.au/21644a.jpg

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Paul.

 

The date is Meiji year 13 which is 1880.

Gary

 

Very nice coin you have there.

Oh how times have changed. Here's a One Yen saved from my world travels. Its garbage (and feels like fake money) compared to your yours.

 

Dating Japanese Coins.

Here is a good website I found which is very helpful in dating Japanese coins.

http://www.lioncoins.com/nippon.htm