1 yen coin


The 1-yen coin is the smallest denomination of the Japanese yen currency. The first Japanese one-yen coin was minted in 1870, and was made out of silver. Eventually gold coins were also produced, resulting in co-circulation among the two. Silver one-yen coins ceased production in 1914. Brass one-yen coins were made in the late 1940s, but the current design was first minted in 1955. The current design is made up of pure aluminium which has remained unchanged since the coin was first minted.
In the early 2010s increasing usage of electronic money led to a lack of demand, and production of the coin was confined to mint sets until 2014. Regular production only lasted until 2016, when new one yen coins were again confined only to mint sets. Like with the U.S. penny, the Japan Mint has minted one-yen coins at a loss due to the rising cost of the base metal used in the coins.

History

The first Japanese one-yen coin was minted in 1870; at first these coins were primarily minted in silver. The obverse featured a dragon with a circular inscription around it. The reverse had a radiant sun surrounded by a wreath, with the chrysanthemum emblem flanked by two seals of the Japanese government. The following year, though, Japan switched to the gold standard to keep up with countries in North America and Europe. Production of silver one-yen coins was halted, and new small gold coins took their place. Through 1874-1875, one-yen silver coins were again minted with a new design, only to be halted again sometime in 1875 in favor of "Trade Dollars". Some yen coins were countermarked between 1874 and 1897 for use in Formosa. Both silver and gold coins co-circulated after 1878 when Japan went with a bimetallic standard, and production of silver one-yen coins resumed, but again ceased in 1914.
The coinage was reformed in 1948 with the issue of a brass one-yen coin. 451,170,000 coins were minted until production stopped in 1950. The obverse of these brass coins features a numeral "1" with "State of Japan" above, and the date below, while the reverse reads "One Yen" with a floral pattern below it. The current aluminium coin was first introduced in 1955 with a floral design. The obverse has a young tree, intended to symbolize the healthy growth of Japan. The reverse side of the coin has a figure "1" in a circle that represents one yen; below the digit is the year of issue which is written in kanji. The one yen coin remains the oldest modern denomination coin with an unchanged design; throughout its minting history the coin was fully halted only once in 1968 due to excessive production. In 1989 a national consumption tax was put into place resulting in many prices that were not multiples of 5 or 10 yen, causing the Japan Mint to produce one yen coins in huge numbers.
This consumption tax rate was raised in 1997 to 5%, reducing demand for the coin. By the turn of the century other factors such as rising metal costs and increasing usage of electronic money began to come into play. It was reported in 2003 that it cost 13 yen for the mint to produce a rolled plate for one yen coins. The rising price of aluminum had started to generate a commercial loss for the Japan Mint. In 2009, unsuccessful measures that included raising money from the private sector were tried in order to lower the cost. From 2011 to 2013 the Ministry of Finance stopped issuing new one yen coins for circulation. There was a small production run of 500,000 to 700,000 coins in mint sets for coin collectors. Production resumed in 2014 when the consumption tax was raised again to 8%, causing sums to be less rounded.
The cost of producing each one yen coin was reported to be 3 yen as early as 2015. In the following year, more cashless transactions caused the ministry to stop issuing new one yen coins for circulation again. It was reported in October 2017 though, that one yen coins remained popular in places like Osaka, where the coins are traditionally used for merchant transactions. Despite their localized popularity, no coins have been made since 2016 apart from those in collectable mint sets. The Japanese government has set a goal of increasing cashless transactions to 40% of all transactions by 2025.
According to correspondent Leo Lewis of the Financial Times, the overall use of cash will not be "broken easily" in Japan. Lewis says that elderly Japanese people have not been eager for innovation, and conditions such as "low street crime, low interest rates and a reduced threshold on inheritance tax" remain in place that increase the appeal of carrying cash. One-yen coins have also seen non monetary usage; since all 1-yen coins weigh just one gram, they are sometimes used as weights. If placed carefully on the surface of still water, 1-yen coins will not break surface tension and thus can also float.

Composition

Circulation figures

Meiji

The following are circulation figures for the coins minted between the 3rd and the 45th and last year of Emperor Meiji's reign. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 明治. One yen trade dollars, minor varieties, and patterns are not included here. Countermarked yen are included in the original mintage totals.
"Year" ← Number representing year of reign ← Emperor's name
Year of reignJapanese dateGregorian dateMintage
03 3rd三1870
04 4th四1871
07 7th七1874
07 7th七1874
08 8th八1875
09 9th九1876 138
10th十1877
11th一十1878
12th二十1879
13th三十1880 112
13th三十1880
14th四十1881
15th五十1882
16th六十1883
17th七十1884
18th八十1885
19th九十1886
20th十二1887
21st一十二1888
22nd二十二1889
23rd三十二1890
24th四十二1891
25th五十二1892
25th五十二1892
25th五十二1892 Not circulated
26th六十二1893
27th七十二1894
28th八十二1895
29th九十二1896
30th十三1897
34th四十三1901
35th五十三1902
36th六十三1903
37th七十三1904
38th八十三1905
39th九十三1906
41st一十四1908
45th五十四1912

Taishō

The following is a circulation figure for coins that were minted during the 3rd year of Taishō's reign. Coins from this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 大正. This was the final year one yen coins were minted in silver, and is a one year type.
Year of reignJapanese dateGregorian dateMintage
3rd三191411,500,000

Shōwa

The following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Showa's reign. The dates below correspond to the 23rd to the 64th years of his reign. Inscriptions on coins for this period all begin with the kanji characters 昭和.
These coins are read from left to right:
Year of reignJapanese dateGregorian dateMintage
23rd二十三1948 451,170,000
24th二十四1949 451,170,000
25th二十五1950 451,170,000
30th三十1955381,700,000
31st三十一1956500,900,000
32nd三十二1957492,000,000
33rd三十三1958374,900,000
34th三十四1959208,600,000
35th三十五1960300,000,000
36th三十六1961432,400,000
37th三十七1962572,000,000
38th三十八1963788,700,000
39th三十九19641,665,100,000
40th四十19651,743,256,000
41st四十一1966807,344,000
42nd四十二1967220,600,000
44th四十四1969184,700,000
45th四十五1970556,400,000
46th四十六1971904,950,000
47th四十七19721,274,950,000
48th四十八19731,470,000,000
49th四十九19741,750,000,000
50th五十19751,656,150,000
51st五十一1976928,850,000
52nd五十二1977895,000,000
53rd五十三1978864,000,000
54th五十四19791,015,000,000
55th五十五19801,145,000,000
56th五十六19811,206,000,000
57th五十七19821,017,000,000
58th五十八19831,086,000,000
59th五十九1984981,850,000
60th六十1985837,150,000
61st六十一1986417,960,000
62nd六十二1987955,775,000
63rd六十三19881,269,042,000
64th六十四1989116,100,000

Heisei

The following are circulation dates during the reign of Emperor Akihito, 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. One-yen coins dated between 2011 and 2013 were only released in mint sets. Although regular production resumed in 2014, the mintage was again halted in 2016 as exclusive to mint sets only.
These coins are read with from left to right:
Year of reignJapanese dateGregorian dateMintage
01 1st元19892,366,970,000
02 2nd二19902,768,953,000
03 3rd三19912,301,120,000
04 4th四19921,299,130,000
05 5th五19931,261,240,000
06 6th六19941,040,767,000
07 7th七19951,041,874,000
08 8th八1996942,213,000
09 9th九1997783,086,000
10th十1998452,612,000
11th十一199967,120,000
12th十二200012,026,000
13th十三20018,024,000
14th十四20029,667,000
15th十五2003117,406,000
16th十六200452,903,000
17th十七200530,029,000
18th十八2006129,594,000
19th十九2007223,904,000
20th二十2008134,811,000
21st二十一200948,003,000
22nd二十二20107,905,000
23rd二十三2011456,000
24th二十四2012659,000
25th二十五2013554,000
26th二十六2014124,013,000
27th二十七201582,004,000
28th二十八2016574,000
29th二十九2017477,000
30th三十2018440,000
31st三十一2019566,000

Reiwa

The following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Naruhito acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, 2019 and he was formally enthroned on October 22, 2019. Coins for this period all begin with the kanji characters 令和. The inaugural year coin was marked 元 and debuted during the summer of that year.
These coins are read from left to right:
Year of reignJapanese dateGregorian dateMintage
1st元2019502,000
2nd二2020TBD