Japan 1896 (M29) 5 yen
This specimen was lot 50069 in Stack's Bowers Hong Kong auction (Hong Kong, April 2021), where it sold for $8,400. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Extremely Rare Penultimate Date Dragon-Style 5 Yen. JAPAN. 5 Yen, Year 29 (1896). Osaka Mint. Mutsuhito (Meiji). PCGS Genuine--Cleaned, Unc Details Gold Shield. An EXTREMELY RARE date that was largely melted at the mint, resulting in very few survivors from its original mintage of 224,325. Of those that survived, most reflect either circulation or usage in jewelry. The Ministry of Finance hoard produced the few exceptions, with only two coins of this date appearing there, both of which would qualify as Mint State. While fully detailed, this example does display evidence of past cleaning, although bright orange tone now compliments the appearance. As the nicest we have seen offered since the hoard's dispersal in 2005, this coin presents an exciting opportunity for the collector endeavoring to assemble a complete set of Japan's modern-era gold coinage. From the Pinnacle Collection."
This type was struck 1872-97 in substantial quantities but only the 1872 and 1873 are not extremely rare. As the weight of the five yen was reduced to 4.16 g in 1897, it suggests that all the other dates were retained by the government and then melted to make the lighter weight coin.
Recorded mintage: 224,325, a rare date.
Specification: 8.33 g, 0.900 fine gold, 21.8 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Fr-47; KM-Y11a; JNDA-01-3a.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- The Catalog of Japanese Coins and Banknotes, Tokyo: JNDA (Japanese Numismatic Dealers Assn.), 2014.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The April 2021 Hong Kong Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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