10 yen coin

Denomination of Japanese yen

The 10 yen coin (十円硬貨) is one denomination of the Japanese yen. The obverse of the coin depicts the Phoenix Hall of Byōdō in, a Buddhist temple in Uji, Kyoto prefecture, with the kanji for "Japan" and "Ten Yen". The reverse shows the numerals "10" and the date of issue in kanji surrounded by bay laurel leaves.

Ten yen coins were first issued in 1871 from a newly established mint at Osaka. The origin of mintage is not clear as there are conflicting reports stating that ten yen coins were either minted in San Francisco, or in Japan the prior year. In either case the unit of yen was officially adopted by the Meiji government in an act signed on June 27, 1871. Under the new law each ten yen coin was to weigh 257.2 grains, and contain 90% gold with a foreign exchange rate close to a United States Eagle (US$10 coin). Gold bullion for coinage was delivered from private Japanese citizens, foreigners, and the Japanese government. No ten yen coins were minted between 1871 and 1876, during this time the Japanese government tried unsuccessfully to implement a gold standard with the amount of gold in circulation described as "very trifling". Gold bullion rose to a slight premium in 1874 which caused gold coin production as a whole to rapidly fall off. It was reported in the Quarterly Journal of Economics that by 1876 more gold coins were exported to foreign countries than for use domestically. Japan was later forced off of the gold standard in 1877 due to the cost of the Satsuma Rebellion. Twenty years would pass before the Japanese government went back on the gold standard. During this lapse non circulating ten yen gold coins were made in two non consecutive years for two different reasons. The first occasion occurred in 1880 when ten yen gold proof coins were struck for exclusive use in presentation sets that were given away as gifts to foreign diplomats. The second and final instance involved the World's Columbian Exposition in 1892 where several newly minted coins were put on display. When Japan went back on the gold standard in 1897, new ten yen coins were set by law to weigh 8.3g and have a diameter of 21.2mm. efn|Ten yen gold coins initially weighed 16.6g with a width of 29.4mm. The adoption of the gold standard allowed Japanese ten yen gold certificates to be redeemed for gold. This convertible paper currency was used in immense numbers while coined yen was seldom used or seen. Gold ten yen coins of the second design (1897 to 1910) mostly remained in government vaults by the time mintage ceased for good in 1910. The coins that had been minted during those thirteen years continued to back up gold certificates until World War I due to inflation. The remaining gold coins in circulation were eventually withdrawn due to wartime conditions in the late 1930s. Those that remained in circulation were either hoarded or melted down by the public.

The first ten yen coins made after World War II were authorized by law on March 2, 1950, by prime minister Shigeru Yoshida. These coins were to be made of German Silver, and act as "temporary subsidiary coins". A total of 432,970,000 ten yen coins minted in this new alloy were recorded as struck by the end of that year. By the end of 1951 almost 800 million of these coins had been minted and were waiting to be distributed. None of the German silver coins minted between 1950 and 1951 ever circulated as the coins were eventually melted. The decision to melt the coins came as the Korean War had driven nickel prices to about 4.1 million yen per ton. Those that escaped being melted and are now considered by collectors to be "scarce" Japanese pattern coins. Bronze ten yen coins were first minted in 1951, but were not released for general circulation until January 4, 1953. Ten yen coins minted between 1950 and 1958 have reeded edges and are nicknamed Giza 10 (Giza Ju), meaning “jagged 10 yen coin” in Japanese. The design which is used today features Phoenix Hall of Byōdō in on the obverse, and Bay laurel leaves on the reverse. The design remains essentially the same other than the reeds being dropped in 1959 which gave the coins a smooth edge. Slight modifications were also made in the latter half of 1986 regarding the design of Byōdō in. Ten yen coins continue to be produced up to the present under the Reiwa era.

Years Material 1871–1910 90% gold, 10% copper 1951–present 95% copper, 3.5% zinc, 1.5% tin