Japan: No 1 Yen Coins Anymore?

[Bimat]

No 1-yen coins minted in 2011, 1st time in 43 years

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- No 1-yen coins were minted for general use in 2011 for the first time in 43 years due to the spread of electronic payments at retail stores, Japan Mint officials said Friday.

No 5-yen or 50-yen coins were minted last year for the second consecutive year, the officials said.

A total of 456,000 of the three coins were minted in 2011 for inclusion in collector sets and the number of 1-yen coins sold in the sets fell to around 5 percent of the level in the previous year. The collector sets were sold out.

Demand for 1-yen coins grew with the introduction of the 3 percent consumption tax in 1989. The annual amount minted peaked at more than 2.7 billion in 1990 but has declined since.

(Mainichi Japan) February 18, 2012

Source

[Globetrotter]

my last is from 2008 (20)

ole

[Verify-12]

I guess Japanese law doesn't require their minting.  In some countries, mints keep manufacturing coins the population doesn't need just because the central banking laws demand it, or the legislatures pass laws and don't repeal them, resulting in numerous coins that nobody uses.   I'm thinking of the USA's presidents dollar-coins.

There are a few of these Japanese 1 Yen coins that are VERY difficult (for me!) to find in Mint State condition:  1960, 1961, 1962, and 1969.

[KennyisaG]

Recently I've been visiting plenty of coin shops in my area, and have been picking up all the Japanese coins I can find, to both sell and spend in Japan. So far I've found 2060 1 yen coins, with 594 minted Showa 44 and earlier (JNDA lists these at a higher value). Since they haven't been circulating for many years and mostly in pound bags, I've been finding plenty of these in higher grade, even Showa 30 UNC, among other denominations in early year and high grade.

[Prosit]

The USA Presidential Dollar Coins are currently only minted for collectors. The last Presidential Dollars struck for general circulation (they don't circulate) was in 2011.

Dale

I guess Japanese law doesn't require their minting.  In some countries, mints keep manufacturing coins the population doesn't need just because the central banking laws demand it, or the legislatures pass laws and don't repeal them, resulting in numerous coins that nobody uses.   I'm thinking of the USA's presidents dollar-coins.

There are a few of these Japanese 1 Yen coins that are VERY difficult (for me!) to find in Mint State condition:  1960, 1961, 1962, and 1969.

[Verify-12]

Well, I am having a very hard time finding One Yen and Five Yen coins in UNC/BU (without problems) with the dates Showa 35, 36, 37 (1960, 61, 62).   Plenty of chewed up/severely-worn examples to be found, easily.   And 1969 (Showa 44) One yen is hard to find in decent condition, too.   There are plenty of them on eBay, but they are all in that expensive 1969 Bank of Japan mint set.

These seven coins (in UNC+ grades) almost never come up for bid anywhere.  They are listed in catalogs at low(er) prices, too; even in high grade.

I have a "Toho Planning" coin binder (album) from around 1980.  I have these early 60s dates in the holes, but they are all very rough for wear.

[KennyisaG]

Well, I am having a very hard time finding One Yen and Five Yen coins in UNC/BU (without problems) with the dates Showa 35, 36, 37 (1960, 61, 62).   Plenty of chewed up/severely-worn examples to be found, easily.   And 1969 (Showa 44) One yen is hard to find in decent condition, too.   There are plenty of them on eBay, but they are all in that expensive 1969 Bank of Japan mint set.

These seven coins (in UNC+ grades) almost never come up for bid anywhere.  They are listed in catalogs at low(er) prices, too; even in high grade.

I've been very lucky to find plenty of pre-44 1 yen coins in high grade and UNC in the US. I keep all pre-44 1 yen in a separate bag from other years.

[Enlil]

Lots of them were issued in 2014-16.

[SquareEarth]

I'm travelling around in Japan now, the annoying thing is that no vending machine or ticket kiosk accepts those 1 yen coins.

I think the meaning of this coin is to make the unit "yen" meaningful, otherwise the Japanese might just cancel off two zeros in their currency, and make the 100 yen coin the new Japanese "dollar".

[Pabitra]

1 Yen may be stopped again


https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/09/16/business/financial-markets/demand-1-coins-dampened-e-money-tax-hike/

[Pabitra]

1 Yen has been stopped but numbers in circulation (?) is substantial

See

Nippon.com | Your Doorway to Japan

[Figleaf]

It is likely that many of these coins in circulation are not in circulation. They are lost in furniture and gutters and old clothes or disappeared from neglect otherwise. When coins are de-monetised, it is quite usual that a surprisingly high proportion is not offered for redemption and that is not reflected in the price of these coins as numismatic items.

One example: in 1948, Dutch silver coins were demonetised. According to Central bank figures, 26 million 10 cent pieces and 134 million 25 cent pieces were not exchanged, although they contained little silver. For several decades these coins had no numismatic value except in top grade. They were used in such quantity for jewellery that towards the end of its existence, the money museum could devote a whole special exhibition to items made with these coins.

Peter

[Pabitra]

Yes, absolutely right.
Normally, the smallest denomination which is due for its demise due to low significance of its purchasing power, meets such fate.
Not only used for miscellaneous purposes, it is also the representative of that nation in one coin per country album in young collectors first encounter with numismatics.
I always find such coins in free specimens, distributed to passport holders of WMF Berlin.
Silver coins were demonetised when silver prices rose and metal value exceeded face value.
Base metals coins are usually not exchanged since the time, money and energy required to go to the central bank exceeds the returns one obtains.

[FosseWay]

I'm slightly confused why the 10c and 25c coins were demonetised in 1948. The UK abandoned silver at the same time and didn't change the status of the earlier coins until the physical size changed or the denomination fell out of use. The same applies in the US, Canada and Australia, where you can still theoretically get silver coins in circulation, and applied in Sweden until 2017 when the sizes changed. In practice if coins are worth more in metal than face value they will disappear from use anyway, as both the authorities and members of the public will extract them. The cupro-nickel 10p and 5p coins issued in the UK from the resizing through to 2010 or whenever the steel coins started have largely been taken back in by the RM, as have the old bronze 2p and 1p coins, but any that are left are still usable.

[Figleaf]

I'm slightly confused why the 10c and 25c coins were demonetised in 1948. The UK abandoned silver at the same time and didn't change the status of the earlier coins until the physical size changed or the denomination fell out of use. The same applies in the US, Canada and Australia, where you can still theoretically get silver coins in circulation, and applied in Sweden until 2017 when the sizes changed.

The difference between the Netherlands and the countries you mention is the nazi occupation. The country was plundered on an unimaginable scale, especially towards the end of the second world war. Anything that had any value and could be shipped was stolen, from locomotives and heavy machinery to bicycles. Meanwhile, factories were bombed, polders flooded, bridges destroyed and all ports and airports turned into rubble. As an example, the main road between Amsterdam and The Hague had ceased to exist between Amsterdam and Schiphol and was largely unusable beyond Schiphol. In addition, the country was heavily indebted to the US for Land-Lease goods and even for coins struck at US mints.

The silver from the pre-war coins was used to scale back the debt to the US. Taxes up to 100% were levied on unexplained wealth acquired since 1939, but the country couldn't produce or ship much until the infrastructure had been repaired and there was not enough money for all the repairs necessary. Trust in the future was lacking; there was a flow of emigrants, mainly to the white Commonwealth and the Caribbean colonies. Communism loomed very large.

Only from 1948, Marshall aid began having an effect and major factories were starting to produce again. By 1950, reconstruction had started a long and powerful economic boom, supported by the German Wirtschaftswunder, that re-opened Germany as an important export market. The colonial Dutch got kicked out of the Netherlands East Indies, reinforcing the factor labour. Less than a decade later silver coins were back in circulation, but the 10 and 25 cents had to remain Cu-Ni coins.

Peter