Japan 1904 (M37) yen
This specimen was lot 23167 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Las Vegas, August 2020), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "JAPAN. Yen, Year 37 (1904). Mutsuhito (Meiji). PCGS MS-62 Gold Shield. A bright and fully lustrous Yen with that freshly minted look. From the BKingdom Collection." This yen was struck in Japan during the reign of the Meiji emperor, Mutsuhito (1867-1912). The type was struck 1886-1912; this date (year 36) is among the more common. Prior to the opening of Japan in the 1850's and 1860's, Japanese coins were a mix of Chinese-style cast copper cash, silver rectangular "bu" and rare, gold "oban." Many of the early dates of Meiji yen were countermarked as "gin" (KM 28) in 1897 to circulate as trade dollars in Taiwan, annexed to Japan in 1895.
Recorded mintage: 6,970,843.
Specification: 26.96 g, 0.900 fine silver, .780 troy oz ASW, 38.1 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-YA25.3; JNDA 01-10A.
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The August 2020 ANA Auction: World Coins, featuring the Duke of Lansing Collection, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
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