Thanks! These coins seems to be very well made, doesn't seem to deteriorate that much. Have to research the metal they use. I'll research the metal and see if I can find a japanese website that translates numbers (in a very simple way hehe.) Thanks again, much appreciated!
If you look at the technical details, the metal content of a 10 yen coin is 95% copper, 3% zinc, 2% tin. These coins are more red than what a typical bronze would look like. Bronze alloy would have at least 10% tin or more. I would classify it as copper alloy but calling it bronze is not right either.
Yes, calling them "copper" is essentially the truth, though there is that little bit of other stuff in the alloy. 'Twas a minor technical point, since they're called "bronze" in the catalogs, as are a lot of modern issues. I just don't see that many moderns cataloged as "copper" from the 20th century onwards.
That's exactly what I had in mind ! Thank you ! And thanks @Parthicus @gxseries and @lordmarcovan also for the replies, much appreciated !
I am going to add as a footnote that due to getting some Japanese coins over the years I've memorized the numerals from one to ten. It's worked out quite well.
This may help and there are links at the bottom of the page for other sites. I find reading different explanations sometimes helps in working things out in my own mind. http://www.starcityhomer.com/reading-japanese-coins.html and once you figure out the dates, this page is a straight up listing to convert them: http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~watson/ref/mtsh.html The trick sometimes is to figure out which way to read the coins--which varies depending on the date. edited to add--if you find some with a reeded edge (vs. the smooth edge), those were the first type and carry a premium. Otherwise, there are a few scarcities pre-1970 which are desirable in UNC, but mostly they are pocket change.
The contemporary Japanese coins I simply cannot find in "no brown spots/decent eye appeal" UNC: Five-Yen coins and One-Yen coins in Showa 35, 36, and 37 (1960, 1961, and 1962). Ten yen coins? I can find pretty much any of those in UNC, no problem. A pretty penny is usually the only thing one needs for some of those...
