Japanese One Yen

[Phil UK]

Hi there,

 

I recently got this one yen coin, its my first one and I dont know much about it.

 

Could someone tell me what year this is from and maybe a ballpark value for it?

 

Many thanks,

[Phil UK]

Again, if it helps others I'll be happier, but I think my One Yen might be a fake...

Its a rare year apparently (1875?) and there are a few anomalies now i've had a good look at it - The beading seems to be missing from part of the rim of the coin as well as part of the dragons face being missing (poor strike?)

I also weighed it and its a little bit off, however it does seem to have some genuine age to it (I've seen other admitted fakes with a really suspicious looking brown colouring and overly wide rims)

In summary I think its quite a good fake, and even quite an old one - but probably a fake nonetheless..

 

You live and learn, but it has put me off buying oriental coins in future.

[mmarotta]

The beading seems to be missing from part of the rim of the coin as well as part of the dragons face being missing (poor strike?)

I also weighed it and its a little bit off, however it does seem to have some genuine age to it

 

It is hard to see everything from the snapshot, but I see the missing beads and the apparently uneven rim. That the weight is light is a strong indicatoin of a fake.

 

It is not so much the coins themselves, but from whom you buy them. Here in the States, ANA member dealers (and ANA members) adhere to a Code of Ethics. (PDF here, scroll to pages 8 and 9.) Other professional clubs such as the International Association of Professional Numismatists have similar mechanisms that ensure that when you buy something it is genuine as described. Similarly, dealers who belong to the Oriental Numismatic Society are not only specialists, but, of course, also members of those other general societies.

 

Finally, there are many ways to age an object. You often cannot tell.

[Phil UK]

Thanks - It came from an eBay lot that was a lucky find gone wrong.

 

It was the Yen and four Bagua good luck tokens listed as 'Unknown Japanese Silver Coins'

I saw the Yen in there and got excited!

 

Its not too painful as I got the 5 rounds for a little over $10 USD

 

So it wasnt too expensive a lesson to recieve and actually I learned a lot about chinese charms, Japanese Yen and counterfeits and quite enjoyed the detective work and research I had to do on it, so overall, I'm a wiser collector for it

[ccg]

Definately a modern copy. This style of copy is pretty recent - the Peace Dollar versions are kind of dangerous since the design itself is usually pretty flattish.