Japan 500 yen coins - all still legal tender?

So, I recently found a smallish stash of Japan 500 yen coins in a 'junk' bin at a recent local coin show.

I know that the simple exchange rate between yen/us dollar makes a 500 yen coin theoretically worth USD 4.62 right now.

I have two questions for the cointalk hive mind:

1. Are pre-2000 500 yen coins still legal tender in Japan?
2. Anyone have experience with currency exchanges in the US taking 500 yen coins?

I'm looking to 'flip' these coins for easy money in the US as I'm not likely to visit Japan anytime soon.

fyi - I bought the coins for ~$1 each.

 

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I don't know the answer to #1.

But in general currency exchanges never take coins. Only paper bills.

 

All modern Japanese coins are still legal tender, including the old 500 yen and the early series like the large 50 yen and not-holed 5 yen.

 

Yeah, AFAIK they are still used. I bought a bunch of 100 yen coins 5/$1 and my daughter used them on her Japan trip.

 

Thanks for the info guys.

If I can't find a currency exchange in the USA to exchange these, there is this company (and probably others like it) that could be a way to profitably divest of the 500 yen coins - https://foreigncurrencyandcoin.com/

Anyone have experience with online coin exchange companies?

 

Mr. Flute: I haven’t checked the foreign exchange rates today, but it seems to me that the Yen has been selling at ~1,000 to the dollar for the past several years. So wouldn’t that make your ¥500 coins nominally worth 46.2 cents apiece? Or did I just misplace a decimal point myself?

 

Exchange rate today $ 1 = Yen 108.20

 

The yen has been running about 1¢ (100¥ ~ $1) each for the past 5-10 years.
When I was there in 1965 it was about 360¥ to the dollar.

 

The online currency converters I just consulted all said 500¥ = $4.62 to $4.63. The most precise said 4.627092, which changed in the highest precision with every web refresh.

Are these coins in decent condition? They're pretty easy to find even in good condition, so if they were found in a "junk" box I'm guessing they probably aren't the most pristine examples? In any case, they are fairly common because they still circulate.

 

Unless you know someone that's going to Japan, it would be hard to exchange it at current market value. You might be able to offload it here and offer let's say about 5-10% off. EBay would be at last resort as it would take perhaps 15-20% off.

 

I'd be happy to find an 'easy' path to even getting half current exchange rate, as it would double my cost (aka 100% profit). Let the person/entity providing the exchange to me make a good profit. I'm fine with that.

 

Oops! No, it’s me that misplaced a decimal point. ¥ has been running at ~100 (not 1000!) per $. Sackcloth and ashes for me the rest of the thread...

 

And twenty lashes....

 

Actually a couple still have some mint luster on them, which is nice.

That's why I put quotes around junk. Perhaps I should have said bargain bin.

 

I just had a similar circumstance, but instead of 500 yen coins it was a 1,000 yen note from the 1984 series. I don’t think I’ll exchange it though, I like the design.

 

OUCH! But well-deserved...

 

Hold on to 'em. The exchange rate will surely tilt in the favor of the Yen. I remember about 10 years ago when 500-Yen was about $7.50. I found a bunch in a "junk bin," too. I knew coin shop owner, so I alerted him to the fact that they were 500-YEN not 500-WON, which he thought they were.

500-Won (South Korea) are about 1/10th of the value!

 

I've never done it personally and not sure which airports nor the rules but I do know some airports do currency exchanges.

 

I'll think about holding them. As I have developed an eye for grabbing the 500 & 100 yens whenever possible for bargain bin prices.

I do the same with Swiss franc coinage, Canada, Great Britain and Euros. If I can get these for pennies on the potential exchange value, I'll do it every time.

 

I did this for many years and eventually made out pretty well. I wait until that currency is strong and then send it with somebody visiting the country. I usually pay them 10 or 15% for their work but they're happy to do it.

Be careful though. Some countries suddenly devalue their currency to nothing. I lost most of my money (only about $150) on my French coins. I had to mail them cold to a coin shop and they sent me a $20 coin. There are lots of sources for these since many are accidentally put into the stream of coins. Focus on high denominations or they weight too much.

I always went through them before shipping them off and it wasn't unusual to find some very "valuable" coins like high grade 100Y's. I still have Swiss and German coins but time is running short on the German.