The first coins in the Land of the Rising Sun were imported from a neighboring state. Find out how Japan's monetary system has evolved and what coins are currently operating in the country.
Coins of Japan: photo, history
For centuries, the land of the rising sun adhered to a policy that was closed to the outside world. Business relations were maintained only with China. In the 1st century, the Chinese brought yuan to the Japanese islands - round coins with a hole in the center. Their name was translated as "an object of round shape." At first, residents use Chinese money, and later they begin to mint their own Zen coins in Japan, which completely copy the Chinese yuan.
By the end of the 10th century, the Japanese state began to weaken. The government stopped minting. In Japan, Chinese money began to operate again.
Since the fourteenth century, private minting money was produced by wealthy families. Private zen did not have a single course, they were made of different metals and were not always of high quality. The country even has a practice of demanding a replacement or a discount on low-quality coins.
Japanese yen
Private coinage led to economic decline and chaos, since money of absolutely any denomination, form and material operated in the country. In 1871, a single Japanese currency appeared on the market , which is still valid. Its name, "yen," by analogy with the Chinese yuan, means "circle" or "round object."
Coins of Japan acquired a clear round shape. One yen consisted of 100 parts of sen, which were divided into 10 rin. In the second half of the XX century, the yen received the status of an international currency, and in 1954, the Senas and Rins out of circulation.
Initially, new Japanese coins were tied to two metals simultaneously. So, the value of the yen was determined as 25 g of silver and 1.5 g of gold. Later, the yen was tied only to gold and the American dollar. One dollar was 360 yen.
Recently, the value of the Japanese currency has increased significantly, it is one of the world's reserve currencies.
Modern coins of Japan
The most common coins in circulation are denominations of 1, 5, 10, 100, 500 yen. The reverse shows the face value and hieroglyphs indicating the year of manufacture. Obverse (front side) depicts various plants. For example, on a 500 yen coin, there are drawings of paulownia, citrus and bamboo, and a 100 coin is decorated with sakura.
Japan traditionally issues coins with a hole in the middle in denominations of 50 and 5 yen. 10 yen is a peculiar exception: the obverse does not depict a plant, but a pavilion in the Bedoin monastery, surrounded by arabesques.
Denominations of 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 are in circulation among paper notes, so a 1 yen coin costs negligible, but is actively used in the country. Numismatists are ready to give from 20 rubles for 1 yen of 1990-2010 years of issue, and modern collectors of 100 yen cost collectors from 40 Russian rubles.
The Japanese government is carefully protecting its currency from counterfeiting. One way to prevent coin fraud is to use the finest lines in the picture, which are visible only when viewed from a certain angle.
Commemorative coins
In addition to everyday circulating banknotes, commemorative coins of Japan are issued. Usually they are confined to any significant events and dates in the country. Coins are produced in a limited edition, which makes them especially popular among collectors. They operate at the same level as negotiable, they can easily pay for services and products.
There are about one hundred types of commemorative coins in denominations of 100 to 10,000 yen. Since 2008, the release of 500 yen with the image of Japanese prefectures began. They began to be produced in honor of the 60th anniversary of Japanese autonomy, and about 16 units have already been produced. The material was zinc and nickel. The second series of such commemorative coins is issued with a denomination of 1,000 yen from silver. Their circulation amounted to about 100,000 of each type.