5 yen coin
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The is a denomination of the
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...
. The current design was first minted in 1959 using Japanese characters known as the " new script", and were also minted from 1948 to 1958 using "old-script" Japanese characters. Five-yen coins date to 1870 (when, due to the much higher value of the yen, they were minted in
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
). The modern-day coin was first produced in 1948 with a differently styled inscription. This was changed in 1959 and the design has remained unchanged since. The obverse of the coin depicts a
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
plant growing out of the water, with "five yen" written in
kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
; the reverse is stamped with "Japan" and the year of issue, also in kanji, separated by sprouts of a tree. The three graphic elements of the coin represent agriculture and fisheries, the key elements of the Japanese first-sector economy. Around the central hole, there is a
gear A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic pr ...
that represents industry. It is the only Japanese coin in circulation to lack
Arabic numerals Arabic numerals are the ten numerical digits: , , , , , , , , and . They are the most commonly used symbols to write Decimal, decimal numbers. They are also used for writing numbers in other systems such as octal, and for writing identifiers ...
on either side.


History


Gold five yen (1870-1930)

Five yen coins were first struck in gold for the Japanese government in 1870 at the
San Francisco Mint The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint. Opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush, in twenty years its operations exceeded the capacity of the first building. It moved into a new one in 1874, now kno ...
. During this time a new mint was being established at
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, which did not receive the gold bullion needed for coinage until the following year. The yen as a unit of currency was officially adopted by the Meiji government in an act signed on June 27, 1871. For this particular denomination, its not known if any five yen coins dated 1871 (year 4) were actually struck that year as official records have coinage beginning in 1872. The first and second five yen coin designs feature a dragon figure on the obverse surrounded by legends, while the reverse features the emblem of the
Imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of King, kings/Queen regnant, queens, Emir, emirs/emiras, Sultan, sultans/Sultana (title), sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the ...
. Each coin was initially struck in .900 fine gold with a weight of 8.3g, and a diameter of 23.8mm. The diameter was later reduced to 21.8mm when the second design was introduced in 1872. Five yen coins continued to be struck uninterrupted until 1879, when for an unknown reason none were recorded as minted. Coinage resumed in 1880 and remained unchanged until 1897 when Japan officially switched from a
silver standard The silver standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of silver. Silver was far more widespread than gold as the monetary standard worldwide, from the Sumerians 3000 BC until 1873. Following t ...
to a
gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the la ...
. During this time the gold five yen coin was given a third and final new design. The diameter was reduced from 21.8mm down to 16.9mm, and the weight was changed from 8.3 to 4.2 grams. Redemption of old silver coins for new gold coins at par began on October 1, 1897 and lasted until closure on July 31, 1898. During the
Taishō era The was a period in the history of Japan dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926, coinciding with the reign of Emperor Taishō. The new emperor was a sickly man, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of ...
the production of five yen coins was impacted by
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as a gold embargo was imposed in 1917 by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Even though this embargo was later lifted in June 1919, the Japanese government continued it by importing gold heavily to re-enforce the gold reserve of the Bank of Japan. Government officials at the time had the opinion that no inflation could take place so long as the percentage of gold cover had not been lowered. This embargo was not absolute however, as it was recorded that some gold coins were paid out between 1920 and 1928 in very small amounts. The gold embargo was later lifted in January 1930, only for it to be re-imposed on December 31, 1931. Five yen coins were last minted in gold during this brief time to act as a reserve for gold certificates. None of these coins were in general use afterwards as the medium of commerce consisted of nonconvertible 5 yen banknotes.


Modern five yen (1948-)

Almost 20 years would pass before the Japanese government authorized the production of a new five yen coin. These new coins were first struck in 1948 and are made of a brass alloy consisting of 60 to 70% copper, and 30 to 40% zinc. Using this type of alloy combination is now a remnant from when
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
era weapons were scrapped to produce the coins. These coins feature a pigeon within a circle on one side and the
National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...
on the other and were only minted for two years. Two different varieties were made in 1949 which included the old pigeon type coins, and new coins featuring a hole in the center. These first holed five yen coins use an old style Japanese script known as ''Kaisho''. The Japanese government added the hole in the center of the coin to save material costs. The overall design of the coin featuring rice, water and a gear on the obverse, and tree sprouts on the reverse has not changed since this time. The final design which is minted today uses a modern style script which was first added in 1959. Five yen coins made headlines in 1999 in regards to the
nuclear accident A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility. Examples include lethal effects to individuals, lar ...
at Tokai, Ibaraki.
Physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
s Masuchika Kohno and Yoshinobu Koizumi showed how the coin could be used to estimate
neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...
dosage to the surrounding population, by measuring its
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
isotope Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numbers) ...
ratios. They concluded that the coin could offer information about the total neutron effect during the accident. The coins could also give insight about shielding modern Japanese houses as the coins were recovered from indoors. Very few five yen coins were minted between 2009 and 2013 making them premium coins for collectors as coins for the latter four years are confined to mint sets. This was due to an increase in the usage of electronic currency which inhibited demand for new coins. Mintage figures recovered in 2014 and coins continue to be produced for circulation up to the present day.


Cultural significance

The Japanese for "five yen," ''go en'' (五円) is a
homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...
with ''go-en'' (御縁), "en" being a word for causal connection or relationship, and "go" being a respectful prefix. As a result, five-yen coins are commonly given as donations at
Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
s with the intention of establishing a good connection with the deity of the shrine. Several different interpretations of this "luck" exist depending on how many five yen coins are offered. While it is generally said that offering "lucky" 5 yen coins as tribute is good, there are others who disagree. Those who hold this position state that "
perforated A perforation is a small hole in a thin material or web. There is usually more than one perforation in an organized fashion, where all of the holes collectively are called a ''perforation''. The process of creating perforations is called perfor ...
coins" such as "5 yen" and "50 yen" are unlucky due to their central holes. Shrines in general depend on offerings in either case to fund maintenance, repairs, and operations for the deity or deities enshrined. There are also other forms of offerings welcomed at shrines depending on the place and customs allowed. According to a priest at
Chichibu Shrine The is a Japanese Shinto shrine at Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture.Kotodamaya.com"Chichibu Jinja" retrieved 2013-1-26. History According to text in the ''Sendai Kuji Hongi'' (''Kujiki''), Chichibuhiko-no-mikoto, the tenth-generation descendant ...
, harvested rice was historically given as Shinto deities do not like cash itself as tribute. Five yen coins are also sometimes given as gifts of "good fortune" during the
Japanese New Year The is an annual festival with its own customs. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, . However, some traditional events of the Japanese New Year are par ...
. These gifts are traditionally given to children in decorated envelopes called , with the total amount of money included depending on age.


Composition


Circulation figures


Meiji

The following are circulation figures for the coins that were minted between the 3rd, and the 45th and last year of Meiji's reign. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 明治 (Meiji). One yen trade dollars and/or patterns are not included here. *Inscriptions on Japanese coins from this period are read clockwise from right to left: "Year" ← "Number representing year of reign" ← "Emperor's name" (Ex: 年 ← 五十三 ← 治明)


Taishō

The following are circulation figures for the coins that were minted during the 2nd and 13th year of Taishō's reign. Coins from this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 大正 (Taishō). *Inscriptions on Japanese coins from this period are read clockwise from right to left: :"Year" ← "Number representing year of reign" ← "Emperor's name" (Ex: 年 ← 三十 ← 正大)


Shōwa

The following are circulation dates which cover Emperor
Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
's reign. The dates below correspond with the 23rd to the 64th year (last) of his reign. All five yen coins that were made before 1959 use ''kyūjitai'', or old script Japanese. In 1949 only, two different styles of writing were used before a more modern one was established in 1950. This second style of writing was used until 1958 when the current script of Japanese took its place in the following year. Coins for this period will all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和 (Shōwa). *Japanese coins are read with a left to right format: :"Emperor's name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 昭和 → 四十八 → 年).


Heisei

The following are circulation dates during the reign of Emperor
Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...
(Heisei), who reigned from 1989 until his abdication in April 2019. The first year of his reign is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one-year type. Coins for this period all begin with the kanji characters 平成 (Heisei). Five-yen coins dated between 2010 and 2013 were only released in mint sets. *Japanese coins are read with a left to right format: :"Emperors name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 平成 → 二十六 → 年).


Reiwa

The following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor.
Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession. ...
's accession to the
Crysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...
took place on May 1, 2019 and he was formally enthroned on October 22, 2019. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 令和 (Reiwa). The inaugural year coin (2019) was marked 元 (first) and debuted during the summer of that year. *Japanese coins are read with a left to right format: :"Emperors name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 令和 → 二 → 年).


Notes


References


External links


Circulating coin list
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Japan Mint The is an Independent Administrative Institution of the Japanese government, responsible for producing and circulating the coins of Japan. The agency has its head office in Osaka with branches in Saitama and Hiroshima. The Japan Mint does not pr ...
.
Five yen coins from 1948 to 1958
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Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It has its headquarters in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. History Like most modern Japanese instituti ...
{{Japanese currency and coinage Japanese yen coins Five-base-unit coins