Japan, 10 yen 1979

[ghipszky]

Here is another coin I need help with.
Ginger

[Prosit]

I had one of those!  Never was sure where it was from.  Good looking coin tho.
Dale
 

[ghipszky]

My first thought was China, but I am not totally sure. Any one out there who could help, then both Dale and I will know what type of coin it is.
Ginger

[Overlord]

Japan, 10 Yen
Reeded edge: Y#73
Plain edge: Y#73a

[Figleaf]

Look at the row of characters just below the 10. The fourth character from the left looks like a cross, which means 10. The character to its left is 5 and the one to the right, looking like a window with curtains is 4. Together, they read 54. Add the accession date of emperor Hirohito (1926) and deduct 1 and you get 1979, the date of the coin. In front of the date is the name of the era: Showa. This tells you that the coin was struck during the reign of emperor Hirohito.

The same cross is at left, below the temple. The other character means yen. The three characters above the temple mean "Nippon koku", the official name of Japan. These coins are easier to read than those of Harar

As for the temple, have a look here.

Peter

[Overlord]

Thanks a ton for breaking it down, Peter. Do you know any good references (online or offline) for reading Japanese coins?

[Figleaf]

I used the table with all the funny numbers in KM for the funny numbers. Just like Arabic numbers, Japanese/Chinese numbers are easy to remember with a bit of practice. The date conversion method is in the introduction of KM, but it works just like any ole regnal year anywhere in Asia. Since the dates of the eras are in the header of the Japan chapter, that's a short cut. The eras are specified in the header of the Japan chapter in KM. The country name is in Wikipedia, in the Japan lemma. I am now waiting with trepidation for Martin's comment, because he's a pro when it comes to Japanese. He doesn't call himself translateltd for nothing.

Peter

[Bimat]

The South Korean and Japanese coins look very similar.I was also confused when I got my first coin from S.Korea.

[translateltd]

I am now waiting with trepidation for Martin's comment, because he's a pro when it comes to Japanese. He doesn't call himself translateltd for nothing.

I got to be "translateltd" from the many hours that I spent deciphering just such squiggles and "windows with curtains" as a kid, using the various tables to be found in coin books at the time, and when they ran out, the sets of encyclopaedias at the local library.  Maybe I should have posted this under "What kind of coin collector are you?"  I'm the kind that got an education and a completely non-numismatic career out of my hobby :-)