Help with Japanese date... did I read these numerals wrong?

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by lordmarcovan, Oct 11, 2017.

  1. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    I thought I read Meiji Year 13 on this.

    But if that's right ... oh my goodness! :greedy::greedy::greedy::greedy:

    Surely that can't be right. o_O

    I'm not counting my dragons before they've hatched!

    Surely I've messed up.

    Did I read the numerals backwards? Is that Year 31, instead? If so, the value of the coin is more along the lines of what I'd expect.

    Or have I looked up the wrong type altogether?

    @Stork or somebody who knows Japanese coins... help?

    Foreign languages don't scare me, but when I'm outside the comfort zone of familiar alphabets and numeral systems, I really begin to fumble and stumble.

    IMG_0037.jpg IMG_0038.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2017
    lordmarcovan, Oct 11, 2017
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  3. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    So, from this page (thank you, Portland Coins):

    If the 年 symbol is at the end of the date, I've got things backwards, and it's Year 31 (1898) and not Year 13 (1880), and it's an $8.00 coin in VF (more along the lines of what I expected), and not a *gasp!* $3,250.00 coin in VF.

    So now I am thinking I got things backwards and just by that coincidence of numerals, momentarily gave myself heart palpitations. Don't laugh!

    OK. Go ahead and laugh. I am, at myself. :hilarious:

    How many of you have misidentified something and gone to look it up in Krause and had your mind blown like this? LOL :eek::facepalm::rolleyes:
     
    lordmarcovan, Oct 11, 2017
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  4. Numismat

    Numismat World coin enthusiast

    It certainly doesn't help that the numerals are upside-down when the coin is right side up :)
     
    Numismat, Oct 11, 2017
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  5. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    That's what's been messing with my head!
     
    lordmarcovan, Oct 11, 2017
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  6. Stork

    Stork I deliver

    Sadly, it's a 31. Boy, have I ever done the 'is that for real????' gasping moment in Krause, only to be shot down.

    You are absolutely correct--the year is read from the name of the Emperor (明治-Meiji) to the nen (年), and the direction didn't change from clockwise (right to left) until much later.

    More info here:
    http://www.starcityhomer.com/reading-japanese-coins.html
    (disclosure, that is a page I made, but no financial conflicts/gain ;) :D)

    If nothing else, scroll to the last section of the page and there are links to the Portland page, the relevant Numista page, and the grandaddy of them all LionCoins:
    http://www.lioncoins.com/nippon.htm
    (which is now permanently archived by the British Library)
     
    Stork, Oct 11, 2017
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  7. Galen59

    Galen59 Gott helfe mir

    year 31 sorry..
     
    Galen59, Oct 11, 2017
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  8. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    Drat! Dashed dreams again! :wacky:

    Ah, well. I suspected that "cherrypick" was too good to be true the moment I saw it. :)
     
    lordmarcovan, Oct 12, 2017
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  9. TheFinn

    TheFinn Well-Known Member

    Very informative website without being too technical. Well done.
     
    TheFinn, Oct 12, 2017
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  10. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    I'm assuming this compliment was directed @Stork, for I do not yet have a website.
     
    lordmarcovan, Oct 12, 2017
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  11. Hiddendragon

    Hiddendragon World coin collector

    Recently I had a Turkish 20 para coin that I was identifying. With these coins there's the main date and then the regnal year. The main date is the same for the entire tenure of that ruler, but the regnal year starts with 1 and changes every year. I forget what year I thought it was, but I looked it up and it was really valuable, so I was starting to get excited, but I was also skeptical that I found something so good, and so I looked closer and realized I was looking in the wrong place for the number, and it was actually a super common date worth about 25 cents.
     
    Hiddendragon, Oct 12, 2017
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  12. CoinCorgi

    CoinCorgi Tell your dog I said hi!

    This statement confuses me...

    clockwise (right-to-left)

    because they are different coordinate systems! Clock-wise is left to right at the top of the coin, top to bottom on the right side of the coin, etc.

    Nice almost cherrypick lord.
     
    CoinCorgi, Oct 12, 2017
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  13. sonlarson

    sonlarson World Silver Collector

    This is why I like my converter. But in you case I had to turn it upside down to match the coin.:banghead:

    20 sen.JPG
     
    sonlarson, Oct 12, 2017
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  14. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    That converter looks interesting!
     
    lordmarcovan, Oct 12, 2017
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  15. sonlarson

    sonlarson World Silver Collector

    Comes with Wildman Exact Change coin collecting software. Free download.
     
    sonlarson, Oct 12, 2017
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  16. Galen59

    Galen59 Gott helfe mir

    also dateconverter.net
     
    Galen59, Oct 12, 2017
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