Japan 1903 (M36) 5 yen
This specimen was lot 50072 in Stack's Bowers Hong Kong auction (Hong Kong, April 2021), where it sold for $6,300. The catalog description[1] noted,
"An Elusive Low Mintage Date. JAPAN. 5 Yen, Year 36 (1903). Osaka Mint. Mutsuhito (Meiji). PCGS MS-64 Gold Shield. A minimally marked near-Gem with frosty luster in the open fields and sharp designs that display some light traces of debris inside the recesses. A RARE date, and the lowest mintage for the short-lived type. With only one example graded finer at PCGS, a coin that is destined to attract significant specialist attention. From the Pinnacle Collection."
This type was struck 1897-98, 1903 and 1911-12 during the Meiji era in considerable numbers but remains scarce today with some dates rare. It seems likely that most of the issue remained in government hands as backing for currency until the inflation of World War One ended any likelihood of circulating the coin.
Recorded mintage: 21,956.
Specification: 4.16 g, 0.900 fine gold, .120 troy oz AGW, milled edge.
Catalog reference: Fr-52; KM-Y32; JNDA-01-8.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th 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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