Japanese coinage is always so much harder for me to understand because I don’t know the language and the dating system uses Imperial years not Julian years so it’s extra complicated. If anyone could help my friend identify this coin he is very curious about what it is. I imagine it’s not worth anything but I just want to be able to tell him definitely what it is and when it was minted. Thanks!!
1942 Japan 5 Sen, from the Showa Era. Wartime aluminum. Top image is upside down. Lol. Numista link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces9225.html Your friend's piece is Year 17. The picture in Numista shows Year 18, but for some weird reason, under the text description for the reverse, the Chinese characters show 17, and thus the text says 17, which matches the printed Chinese character in the description but not the Chinese character from their photo. Hope that makes sense.