No pun intended on that last word ;-) They are Japanese, correct? Please forgive my ignorance, but I don't even know which way is up. Can someone help me out? Also, "coin" or "medallic" alignment? What denomination, year, etc., so I can look up the metal composition, etc.? These are some of the coins that I think my Dad brought back from WW2.
first one: you have rotated it 90 degrees clockwise. 10 sen. Y#64 second one: 10 sen, Y#61.1, Yr 15. The observe and reverse are rotated 90 in opposite directions.
Top coin: 10 Sen 十銭 Showa 19 昭和十九年 or 1944 - tin - Obverse - Chrysanthemum flower on top (sign of the Emperor), then 十銭 (10 Sen) and Pawlonia Flowers on the bottom (sign of the office of Prime Minister). Bottom coin: 10 Sen 十銭 Showa 16 昭和十六年 or 1941. - aluminum - Obverse - 十銭 then Chrysanthemum and Pawlonia - reverse features a stylized Chrysanthemum, I think. Read the Japanese from right to left on these coins. The characters reversed direction in 1948, so modern Japanese coins now read left to right. In case you don't know, "Showa" refers to Emperor Hirohito. So "Showa 19" refers to the 19th year of his reign. At this point in the war Japan was really running low on resources. All of the heavier metals went to to weapons and war machinery, thus the tin and aluminum. Also, 大日本, on both coins, pronounced "Dai Nee Hohn" means "Great Japan" or "Empire of Japan."
