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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;satootoko, post: 9613, member: 669&quot;]Japan&#039;s first struck coinage was minted from Meiji 3 (1870) to Meiji 45 (1912) in&nbsp; a dozen denominations.&nbsp;&nbsp; Most Meiji coins have a dragon on the obverse.&nbsp;&nbsp; The were minted in copper, silver and gold.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;Who knows?&nbsp; <img src="http://www.gupistan.com/forums/images/smilies/konfused.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> Depending on denomination, metal and grade they are currently cataloged at anywhere from pennies to $100,000+.&nbsp; Although Krause values an 1887 ¥20 at only $550 in Fine grade, the lowest grade of the same coin is listed at ¥220,000 in the JNDA catalog - about $1,970 at current exchange rates; and I have never seen one offered for sale at less than $2,000. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie4" alt=":mad:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>However, without gold, a reasonably complete type set in VF or better can probably be assembled over a period of years for a few thousand dollars.&nbsp; Very few U.S. dealers carry a significant stock of Japanese coins, and those that do usually have mostly post World War I material.&nbsp; There are 132 lots in the upcoming Heritage auction, but many types rarely show up in the major auctions, or on EBay, so it would be just about impossible for even Bill Gates to assemble a complete set quickly. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>The standard English language references are <i>Japanese Coinage </i> by Jacobs &amp; Vermuele, and <i>Modern Japanese Coinage</i> by Cummings.&nbsp; They are out of print, but 1st and 2nd edition copies of both frequently show up on EBay.&nbsp; In fact, Mike Cummings would probably autograph a copy of his book for you if you bought it from his company, which sells on EBay as &quot;MPCCOINS&quot;. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>Another good resource is the annual <i>Japanese Numismatic Dealers Association</i> catalog.&nbsp; Although it is mostly in Japanese, key information about Japanese coins, such as their composition and Japanese market valuations (in yen of course) is in English, and there are drawings to highlight the differences in many common varieties.&nbsp; The 2004 edition is also currently available on EBay most of the time.</p><p><br /></p><p>I just acquired a German book on modern Japanese coinage, but I haven&#039;t studied it enough to know whether it will give me any new insights or information.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are, of course, a host of excellent books on various aspects of Japanese coinage, both modern and ancient, written in Japanese.&nbsp; If you would like those titles, PM me, as I doubt that many people on the forum would find the information interesting. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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