I've been busy with non-coin stuff for the last few months, so most of what I've got from the LCS has gone into a couple bins to be sorted "later." Well, the bin are getting full, so I've started picking out the better stuff to put in flips. Almost all of these were from the 10 cent bin, but a few might have been bought loose for more. A few I've sorted through so far: Japan--Nothing terribly rare, but even modern 100 and 50 yen are a good deal at 10 cents. I'll buy most pre-WW2 sen coins if I see them in a 10 cent bin, plus the older types of postwar 10 and 5 yen coins Edit: The tail end of my post got chopped off somehow. Anyway, here are some coins from interwar Germany. There are several different mints to collect, and many of the coins can be found in decent condition even in junk bins.
I was just in Japan a few weeks ago and the 10 yen coins were a nuisance. They always took up a bunch of space in my pocket. After seeing yours I realize I should have kept them all and figured out how to sort through the dates after I got home. I did keep a shiny new 500 yen. I don’t think they were out yet during my last trip 4 years ago, and they are too new to work in the Tokyo subway machines.
It's pretty easy to check for the milled edge 10 yen coins from the 50s. They aren't worth that much of a premium, though. When I look through junk bins in the US, almost half of 10 yen coins seem to be of the older type. I imagine the fraction circulating in Japan is much lower. I don't recall seeing any "in the wild" last time I lived in Japan, in 1996. I imagine junk bins are often filled from the collections of the recently deceased, and tend to have a lot of coins from the mid 20th century.
I didn’t even know any of them were milled. I’m sure I would have noticed if I got any in my change. Next time I see a junk bin I should look for one. The coins in those definitely tend to be older.
Milled vs. Unmilled. In this case Showa 27 (1952) vs Showa 56 (1981) I probably have about a couple hundred of the milled ones collected over the years at 10 cents each. I don't think I've ever run across a Showa 32 or 33, which have lower mintages.
Well, I haven't been very diligent about actually posting pics from the bin. So here are a couple of the best finds, I think. Norway 10 Øre 1927. I believe this is the key date in the series with mintage of about half a million. Price varies widely with condition, but a lucky find at 10 cents. Norway 10 Øre 1915. These are billon (0.400 Ag), though I didn't realize it when I picked out this one. I'm part Norwegian, so I'm just generally fond of coins from this country and pick any interesting ones from junk bins.
A few more. Many of these are perfectly ordinary coins, but in nicer condition than how I usually see them or for which 10 cents seemed an especially attractive price. France 1903 25 Centimes Ireland 1968 1 Penny Iceland 1926 5 Aurar
More Japanese junk bin finds. The proprietor says he can no longer be bothered to sort out modern 100 and 50 yen coins for separate sale, so into the 10 cent bin they go. I figure I got 900 yen face plus 3 serrated edge 10 yen for less than US $1.50.
