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Message:: [QUOTE="ewomack, post: 3448199, member: 15588"]It is Japanese, WWII era. The "大日本" translates roughly as "Great Japan," which is how Japan referred to itself before and during WWII. The date appears to be "昭和十九年" or Showa 19, or 1944. That narrows it down to 2 possibilities: the coin is either the 5 Sen tin piece or the 10 Sen tin piece, but we would have to see the other side to determine that. The 10 Sen will have these characters in reverse order: 十銭　　The 5 Sen will have these characters in reverse order: 五銭 Before the mid 1950s, Japanese read from right to left and from then to the present it reads left to right. So all of the Japanese typed above also appears on the coin in reverse order. The Sen was also discontinued after WWII. It had the value of 1/100 of a Yen, roughly the functional equivalent of a Cent. Sadly, as already said, either of these coins are pretty valueless even in pristine condition, so the worn and damaged example shown would be worth very little. A decent specimen, one with no wear and a good strike, might fetch $3. Not only that, millions of these were made, so they're the opposite of rare. It's still a fascinating coin regardless. I have a few myself.[/QUOTE]