Few people know the secret of the name of the Japanese currency, because in the foreign market the yen takes third place in popularity, second only to the US dollar and euro. It was introduced in 1872 by a government led by Meiji, with the goal of creating a system similar to the European one. The emperor signed the relevant decree a year earlier. The new Japanese currency implied the use of a decimal accounting system. At that time, the cost of one yen was 0.78 troy ounces, which was equivalent to the price of one and a half grams of gold. As of today, the same amount can be purchased for more than 3,500 yen.
Japanese coins and banknotes
For the first time in Japan, coins were introduced in 1870. They were made of gold and silver. In the first case, the denomination was 5, 10, 20, 50 sen and one yen, and in the second - 2, 5, 10, 20 yen.
Almost twenty years later, a 5-denomination coin appeared in circulation, for the manufacture of which an alloy of copper and nickel was used. In 1897, the government removed silver yen from circulation and halved the size of gold coins. Beginning in 1954, in Japan they lost their strength and stopped accepting absolutely all coins whose denomination was less than one yen. Now the largest denomination of coins in Japan is 500 yen. It should be noted that they are one of the most expensive on the planet, so they often become objects of fakes.
Throughout its history, the Japanese currency was issued in banknotes in the range from ten sen to ten thousand yen. The only body authorized to issue them is the National Bank. It should be noted that for all the time five series of Japanese banknotes were issued.
Fixed rate of the yen and its appreciation
As during the Second World War, and after it, Japanese money significantly lost its value. In this regard, in order to ensure economic stability in the country, in 1970 its fixed rate was established, amounting to 360 yen for one US dollar. A year after that, due to some depreciation of the dollar, its value was already 308 yen. At that time, the government understood that if the Japanese currency continued to rise in price, then the country's products would become less competitive, and this, in turn, would cause great harm to exports and the development of local industry. As a result, Japan in 1973 began to take an active part in the purchase and sale of foreign currency in international markets. Despite such measures, as the official exchange rate showed, the Japanese yen continued to rise in price. If at the end of the year for one American dollar they gave 271 yen, then in 1980 - 227.
Agreement "Plaza" and its impact on the yen
In 1985, world leading financiers and analysts came to the conclusion that the US dollar is a highly overvalued currency. As a result, the so-called Plaza agreement was signed, which confirmed this fact. As a result, in 1988 the value of one dollar was 128 yen. In other words, the Japanese currency, in relation to the American one, has almost doubled its value. It reached its peak in early 1995, when the exchange rate was 80 yen per dollar.