Any ideas on what this coin is and if it has a value? I've been searching the internet and local coin shops, but only received very little information. Everyone I speak to says they have never seen this. I'm looking for someone with knowledge of this coin or point me in the right direction. Also, I have a set of three coins from an Expo 70 from Japan. It contains a copper, silver, and gold coin. Anyone knows what this is worth or point me in the right direction. Thank you very much...
First of all, you have no coins. The first item is a medal commemorating the 100th anniversary of the enthronement of the Meiji Emperor, who became Emperor in 1862, although he was not actually the ruler of Japan until completing the overthrow of the the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1867, the official start of the Meiji Era. The obverse legends are essentially the same in English and Japanese. The reverse shows the Imperial symbol of the Chrysanthemum over a depiction of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, and a classical poem written by the Meiji Emperor, known as Mutsohito during his lifetime, and the great-grandfather of current Emperor Akihito. I am sending a copy of the item to some people in Japan who may be able to accurately translate its archaic language and calligraphy. Presumably it was struck in the centenary year, 1962, and its value depends entirely upon what its metallic content is, although a collector of Imperial Japanese symbols might pay more. The Expo medals were sold as a set to help fund the international exposition held in Osaka, and are also basically worth their weight in gold, silver and copper. A silver ¥5,000 commemorative struck for the Expo has the distinction of being the only Japanese coin ever struck with a bust on the obverse, although it was not that of an actual human being. Except for sporting event commemoratives depicting athletes in action, it remains the only Japanese coin using an effigy.
Thanks for the speedy reply and I apologize for my ignorance between coins and medals. I haven't really collected in years. That is great information that you provided. By any chance, do you know of any collectors that might be interested in these items?
Just for clarification The 5000-yen coin featuring the bust was issued for the 1990 International Garden and Greenery Exposition, a different expo that was also held in Osaka. And I don't know if you could call it an effigy, but the 2008 Centenary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil 500-yen commemorative coin features an apparent immigrant family on the obverse.
You are of course correct. My only excuse is the late hour locally when I made my response. Perhaps I should have stuck with "bust", my point being that the depiction of a head so common on coins of other nations is unique to the Osaka Expo coin.
I think that is one reason why coin collecting is not so popular in Japan-- the designs of Japanese coins have been boring and unimaginative for centuries.
Not sure I agree with that because, among other things: The Tokyo and Osaka coin shows are as large as any in the States Coin shops abound in just about every city of any size The JNDA publishes a fully illustrated annual catalog of Japanese coins and currency in which dozens of member dealers advertise Prices are strong, often significantly higher than US prices for the same coins The Japan Mint produces multiple collector coins each year. A niece has deciphered the poem for me, and if I understood her correctly, it essentially expresses the Emperor's belief that the world is like a family which isn't as peaceful as it ought to be. Her theory is that when the poem was written, the Emperor was unhappy about the Russo-Japanese War being fought at the time, and was also perhaps thinking of the civil strife which accompanied his restoration to full Imperial power and the termination of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Oh, there are large coin shows in Tokyo, to be sure, but the only one of any real size is the Golden Week show in Nihonbashi, which is the only one I've seen with international dealers and international mint representatives. There are somewhat smaller shows at Ohtemachi and Yurakucho, among other places, but they are not of the same size even as, say, FUN or Long Beach. As far as "coin shops abounding in just about every city of any size" goes, all I can say is, what do you consider a "city of any size"? I live in a metro area of 500,000, but there isn't a coin shop in sight. Nor is there ever a coin show here. There are two cities with a combined population of a half million within a 45-minute train ride of me, but there are apparently no coin shops there to speak of, either. The closest coin shops of any size are in Tokyo, more than an hour away. More than half of the dealers I have met at the coin shows in Tokyo are from Tokyo (23 wards) or suburban areas, with a very, very few from Nagoya, Osaka and Kyoto. Half of the listings for "coins and stamps" in my local yellow pages directory are Tokyo dealers, and the two listings for my state (prefecture) of 3 million apparently have little to do with coins. Surprisingly, there are two listings for "stamp and coin" places in the directory that could be considered "local area" (1 1/2 hours by car), but I've never seen them at a coin show.
Truly rare coins from developed countries almost always sell for more in their home countries than in other countries. I could easily sell a nice 1909-S Lincoln cent in the US for a decent price, but the same coin in Japan might take months to sell. Not all Japanese coins are sharing in the "significantly higher" rally. Common silver one-yen coins that cost me 4500 yen in 1991 are now selling for 2500 yen or even 2000 yen each now. Tokyo Olympics 1000 yen coins were commanding 10,000 yen 20 years ago. Today, you can go to a coin show and pick yourself out 3 or 4 beauties for the same price. Japanese junk silver (100-yen coins) are only selling for 30% over face. You can buy mini bags of Meiji era coppers for 100 yen per coin or less. Wartime coins go for about 10 yen each in lots of 100. Tokugawa-era 1-mon and 4-mon coins go for about 100 yen each, the same price they were in 1987. Another thing to take into account is, Japanese grading is usually (but not always) stricter than American grading, being based more on the British system. A coin that would be considered AU-Unc in the US is often offered as an EF. Coins that would go VF in the US are often sold as F. So a Japanese coin offered as an EF is often actually a better grade than an American EF, and is priced accordingly.
Does anyone know if there will be any coin shows in the Osaka area in August 2009. I'll be in the area for two weeks and would love to attend a show.
The big Osaka show I attended was in October, but I'll email my acquaintance there who took me to that show, and see if there is anything planned for August. Edit:The next Osaka show is July 3-5 and nothing coming up in either Osaka or Tokyo for August.
I wouldn't quite disagree what's going on here - coin collecting in Japan seems to be pretty stagnant, partially due to the economy as well as lack of people's interest. Could be seen as "hikikomori" or just something that's not in trend. On the other hand, prices are selling a lot higher overseas for some coins for instance the 1945 porcelain 1 sen. Combined with the factor that a lot of sellers in Japan aren't too willing to ship overseas plus demand from overseas is strong, you see a bizarre trend not seen with other markets where normally domestic markets usually command a higher price.
