Dnas's Last 20 Posts
| Japanese 416 One Yen 900 - Authenticity?
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
 Posted 05/13/2024 1:45 pm
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To me, there's nothing suspicious about the toning of this coin in my opinion.
Many of the Japanese silver one yen coins that end up outside of Japan tend to be pretty nice shiny coins.
However, Japan is a country that is very hot and humid in summer time and if you search around for silver coins in Japan, they often have some dull brown toning like that coin. There's a lot of quite well worn coins around as well. They have "regular" toning but other types as well:
This one looks like it's been in sweaty hands, where the open flat areas away from the detail have contacted and toned a bit darker:
This one looks like it's gotten a more even brown tone over time, but on the open flat areas away from the detail, some of the tone has rubbed off to a lighter color. You can also see a chop mark.
This one has suffered some water by the looks of things, and has toned very dark and blotchy. It was cheap because it was so black, so I decided to immerse it in hot water and sodium bicarbonate. This process removed a lot of the very black blotchy toning to reveal the colors. It may look ok here but it's still an unattractive coin. I don't normally clean coins but this was so cheap (about $40) and very blotchy black. In Japan, they don't like toned coins, so this must have been hard to sell to Japanese buyers. The condition is AU, with very little wear.
I lived in Japan for 16 years so I accumulated around 80 one yen coins, with only a few missing dates/varieties.
It's actually fun to search out these less than perfect looking coins, some of which can be AU or better but a little unattractive due to brown toning.
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| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| Japan One Yen 1889 (Meiji Year 22) - Authentic? Have No Experience With These
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 09/12/2023 12:41 am
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Looks Ok to me.
The denticles look different to other places on these coins when the toning is variable. It's easier to see the denticle shape if the magnification is higher.
I have a couple of this year, Meiji M22 and it looks the similar. This year has the "4 spines" over the flame version, which are only seen on M20 - M25 and on Taisho T3.
I have a few dozen of these 1 yen coins. |
| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| So, You Inherited A Bunch Of Foreign Gold
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 11/28/2022 2:40 pm
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I agree that some of those coins are definitely of numismatic value.
The gold sovereigns were often mainly government minted bullion, but the half sovereigns were circulating legal tender in the day, not just bullion.
The gold sovereigns were one pound (GB & Australia) which was 20 shillings and the half sovereigns were 10 shillings.
My wife's grandfather used to repair old peddle organs and he found two "lead weights" inside one of them. These "weights" were rolled in paper, so he threw them in a corner of his garage. 10 years later, the galvanised cladding popped open in that corner and the "weights" dropped out onto the ground and sat there for a month or two before he noticed them.
The paper perished, and it turned out that they were not lead weights, but two rolls of Australian gold half sovereigns, 38 in all !!!!
I helped him sell them. About half were worn enough through circulation to be worth melt value, but half were collectable and one was rarer, was in EF condition and I sold it for about $400.
If I recall correctly, the most recent date was in the 1930s.
Edit: The ones in that collection do seem to be a bit above bullion value, while the scratched ones may not be above bullion. |
| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| · 416 · One Yen · 900 · Japanese
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 08/26/2022 7:30 pm
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I have many genuine Japanese silver yen, and yes, this one is definitely fake.
The "sandy" texture is also present on the areas where there's been wear on the original coin from which it was (badly) cast: High points on the dragon, leaves and the chrysanthemum.
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| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| Japan 1 Yen, 7 (1874)
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 07/20/2022 01:20 am
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Diamagnetic materials are repelled by a magnetic field; an applied magnetic field creates an induced magnetic field (because of eddy currents induced by the magnetic field) in the opposite direction, causing a repulsive force. In contrast, paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials are attracted by a magnetic field.
Silver is strongly diamagnetic and has the 4th highest diamagnetic effect of any natural element. Copper is also diamagnetic, but silver displays a magnetic susceptibility 2.6 times stronger.
The coin doesn't have to be big. In fact, if the coin is too large, you have to overcome the inertia of its mass. You can do it with a tiny Japanese Meiji 10 Sen coin.
You can even see this effect with a US 1 cent copper coin, although it's not as strong.
With the hard disc magnet, put the coins on a very smooth surface and hold the flat part of the magnet a couple of mm above the coin. Move the quickly side to side, and you will see the coin move. If you sweep it across only once, you may not see the coin move.
You also need to make sure that you move the magnet across the North/South poles, as moving it across the very middle will not induce any currents. |
| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| Japan 1 Yen, 7 (1874)
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 05/18/2022 8:37 pm
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I live in Japan and have around 60 1 Yen silver coins.
I have a handful of fakes, including a Meiji 11/1878. (The one above is a Meiji 7/1874).
At 26.74g the above coin is too light (it should be 26.96g)
My fake is the correct width, but 26.6g and is too thick 3.08mm (should be 2.76mm)
Silver is not magnetic, but diamagnetic, which means that when you MOVE a very strong magnet next to the coin, it displays some magnetic repulsion.
i.e. It will move the coin if you quickly move the magnet side to side close to the coin.
The diamagnetic effect is caused by high electrical conductivity, which then generates an electrical current in the coin when exposed to a moving magnetic field, which itself then generates its own opposing magnetic field.
Copper is also diamagnetic, but less so than silver (Silver is -2.6, while copper is -1.0)
My fake 1878 displays weak diamagnetism when compared to a genuine 1 yen silver coin.
Based on the larger thickness, lower weight and slight diamagnetism, my 1878 1 yen fake appears to be around 90% copper (probably silver plated 90% copper bronze. Silver is heavier than copper, specific gravity is 10.49 vs 8.96, so the coin needs to be thicker).
I would say that this may also the original basis for "chop marking" on silver coins in China, where you will be able to see the copper underneath the silver plating, if it is fake. |
| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| Attractive Japan One Yen 1914 - New Purchase, Grade?
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 08/08/2021 6:36 pm
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TobyJ, I live in Japan, and always looking for Meiji/Taisho 1 yen.
I've noticed recently, that they've been going up in price after dropping in mid 2020 (I assume that nobody was buying coins back then).
Since then, they seem to have gone up by maybe 50% for comparable coins.
I've also noticed a few Japanese sellers getting them certified slabbed, and attempting to sell for absurd prices on Ebay.
e.g. Cleaned AU details certified slabbed for ~$800 to $1200.
I'm hoping that the price rises are due to the Olympics, but will come down again. |
| | Forum: World Coin Grading |
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| Help Grading 1870 Japan 1 Yen
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 08/08/2021 6:20 pm
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I would say they are most definitely cast fakes.
The raised surfaces have a rough grainy look.
There are marks on both coins showing some natural damage to the original coin, that have been duplicated on both of these samples.
That includes the missing beads at 12 o'clock as mentioned, and a streak on the dot at 7 o'clock.
The silver content is 0.900 not 0.999
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| | Forum: World Coin Grading |
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| Attractive Japan One Yen 1914 - New Purchase, Grade?
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 08/05/2021 12:23 am
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The key wear points I look for on 1 Yen are:
- On the top leaf at 5 o'clock on the reverse, near the ribbon. This is the first area that wears on the reverse.
- Where the dragon hair meets the scales (at around 4 o'clock on your photo) on the obverse. The bottom 4 hairs are worn, and this indicates an AU mid/high 50s.
These don't always wear the same on both sides, so you need to check both.
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| | Forum: World Coin Grading |
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| Meiji Year 25 (1892) One Yen
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 08/01/2021 12:37 pm
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It's the earlier more common variety of the 1892. (this is the only year that has both varieties)
Early variety; right flame extends between 4th and 5th spines
Late variety; right flame extends between 3rd and 4th spines
Look at around 2 o'clock on the first image, inside the circle of beads. There's a flame that goes from about 1pm - 2.30pm. To the right of the flame, you can see 4 spines, and the end of flame finishes between the 4th and 5th spines.(i.e. you can see 4 spines). On the later variety, it extends between 3rd and 4th spines, so you can see 3 spines.
Here is an 1893, which has the same as the later variety 1892:
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| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| Chopmarks On Coins Question?
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 04/26/2021 1:49 pm
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Firstly, chopmarks are not countermarks or counterstamps as such: These were usually marks applied after striking the coin, by the mint or govt agency to mark the coin for some purpose.
Regarding the chopmarks themselves, metal was NOT removed from the chopmark for the purpose of assaying, the chopmark was applied AFTER passing the assayer's tests.
Usually, merchants(mostly money changers or local banks in China) would use a specially trained assayer called a "shroff", to test/verify the silver coin. The most accurate way was to test "specific weight", but this was too time consuming for hundreds of coins on the spot. The shroff used a combination of sensory skills to evaluate the coin: weight, balance, tapping sound, which could take just a second or two, and the coin was then stamped with the chopmark(probably passed to another person to apply the chop).
Among merchants in a particular city/region, their chop marks became known, so if that chop mark was applied, it would be regarded as genuine. If a coin left that city/region, it would reevaluated in a new city/region, and a new chop mark applied.
Chopmarks come in different sizes, but it seems that the size was generally determined by the merchants and what was in vogue at the time: earlier ones were smaller(maybe late 1700s up to mid 1800s), over a period they grew larger(mid 1800s to 1900), then grew smaller (after 1900).
Here is a Japanese silver 1 Yen, with both a countermark/counterstamp, and a chopmark.
The countermark is the circular mark, which designates that the coin was to be exported from Japan for trade (not to be used in Japan for currency). This was called a "gin" or "silver" mark in Japan.
Marked as it is on the left side, it shows that the countermark was applied in the Osaka Mint. If applied on the right side, it would be the Tokyo Mint. (I have other 1 yen coins with the Tokyo "gin" countermark)
The chopmark is to the left of the countermark. (see detail in the second photo)
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| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| Collecting Japanese Coins
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 03/03/2021 12:23 am
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There are a number of normal varieties of Silver 1 Yen coins(Meiji Yr3/1870 - Taisho Yr3/1914) you would need to collect, if you want to collect one example of each major type.
- Meiji Yr3/1870. Old design is different to any others, with no English lettering, dragon on one side, rising sun on the other.
- Meiji Yr3/1874 - Yr19/1886. (Large type, 38.6mm). Newer design with some English lettering, dragon on one side, 1 yen in Japanese on the other.
- Meiji Yr20/1887 - Yr45/1912. (Small type, 38.1mm). Newer design with some English lettering, dragon on one side, 1 yen in Japanese on the other.
- Taisho Yr3/1914. Newer design with some English lettering, dragon on one side, 1 yen in Japanese on the other.
In addition, there are two main subtypes:
- Flame between spine 3 & 4. (1874-1886, 1892-1912)
- Flame between spine 4 & 5. (1887-1892, 1914)
1892 has both types: flame between spine 3 & 4, and flame between spine 4 & 5.
To get these different types, you need to collect 5x One Yen coins:
e.g. Possible combination:
- Meiji Yr3/1870
- Meiji Yr19/1886
- Meiji Yr23/1890
- Meiji Yr28/1895
- Taisho Yr3/1914
Plus the Trade#Dollar. Meiji Yr9/1876 is the most common.
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| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| Three "Meiji" 1-Yen Coins?
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Dnas
New Member
Japan
33 Posts |
Posted 12/22/2017 11:36 pm
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| These are fakes. I live in Japan and if you could understand the vendor, he's actually telling you they "copy". You can pick these up at flea markets for 800-1000 yen.On the other hand, I've picked up genuine one yen for about 4000yen, but it was cleaned. There is also a coin dealer you attends some antique markets, and you can get a very nice example for about 8000yen. It's probably better value to look for 50Sen Meiji dragon (0.5yen), where you can find genuine EF for 2000, or AU for around 4000 |
| | Forum: World Coin Grading |
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