File:Japan 1874 gold yen obv H3029-30213.jpg

This specimen was lot 30213 in Heritage sale 3029 (New York, January 2014), where it sold for $5,287.50. The catalog description^[1] noted, "A Rare and Collectible Type Meiji gold Yen Year 7 (1874), KM-Y9a, Fr-49 MS65 NGC. Bold details with deep red gold toning. After the 4th Year of the Meiji era (1871), gold yen coins had become of little use as the silver Yen was widely accepted and preferred by the public. Although mintage reports for Year 7 account for 116,341 pieces, mintage numbers of subsequent years suggest the vast majority of the Meiji 7 gold Yens were never put into circulation. The few pieces that do appear are, unlike the present example, usually circulated or problem pieces."