Unidentified Chinese Copper Coin - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 30,707
jclark65 New Member United States 4 Posts	Posted 08/17/2009 3:55 pm To all, I am trying to identify a copper coin that appears to be Chinese. The obverse pictures a large building with a central Pagoda shaped roof structure. Chinese characters are arched above and below the building. The reverse has two vine like pieces with leaves arching on either side of the coin. A ribbon like bow is evident at the 6 O'Clock position where the two vines meet. At the top is the number ten, raised numbers 10. Below the number ten is several Chinese characters. I believe the coin may date to World War 2. It is approximately the size of quarter. If anyone has an idea of what this coin is, please let me know. I can take a photo and post it if anyone has an idea of what this coin is. jclark Report this Post to the Staff

wd1040 Pillar of the Community United States 3098 Posts	Posted 08/17/2009 4:06 pm Sounds like this? It's Japanese, 10 yen. You need to upload a photo to ident the date. Is the edge reeded? If it is not, then it's just a regular circulation coin. **Edited to add reverse, more information Edited by wd1040 08/17/2009 4:08 pm Report this Post to the Staff
jclark65 New Member United States 4 Posts	Posted 08/17/2009 9:48 pm Wd 1040, You hit it right on the head. The coin is identical. It does have a reeded edge. It appears that the date is below the number 10 as the characters are different than the photo you show. Thanks for the quick response. Jclark65 Report this Post to the Staff
wd1040 Pillar of the Community United States 3098 Posts	Posted 08/17/2009 10:04 pm Yup, the reeded edge one is old style one that was minted from 1951 to 1958. The characters look different because it is the year. It says Emperor XX - Year XX. For the example one, it says Heisei 7, or 1996. Report this Post to the Staff
thai-vic Pillar of the Community Thailand 1509 Posts	Posted 08/17/2009 11:29 pm Hi jclark65 If the edge is reeded then it's going to be much earlier and from the reign of the previous emperor (Hirohito-Showa). The date is determined by the 2nd, 3rd and 4th characters from the right. It should be somewhere between Yr 26-1951 and Yr 33-1958. In the example below for the date (4th, 3rd, 2nd characters from the right) read (2, 10, 9) = (2 x 10 + 9) = 29 = 1954. Report this Post to the Staff
jclark65 New Member United States 4 Posts	Posted 08/20/2009 11:34 am Thank you Thai-vic, I tried to take a photo of the coin and it was not clear. Attached is a photo of the characters from the coin I wrote on paper. My belief is the coin is from the World War 2 era as my father was in China Burma and India at the time. I looked at a Japanese to English conversion website and am still fuzzy on how to read the date. Whatever you can determine from this I would appreciate. Thanks JClark65 Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16831 Posts	Posted 08/20/2009 12:03 pm The characters translate, from left to right: "Sho Wa two ten seven year". "Showa" is the reign-name for Emperor Hirohito; you've left out the right half of the "wa" character from your sketch. "two ten" is twenty, plus seven, so this is Year 27. 1952 AD. Coins of this design were only issued post-WWII; it can't have been a wartime issue. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
jclark65 New Member United States 4 Posts	Posted 08/20/2009 2:07 pm Thank you all for the speedy response. The mystery of where the coin came from among my family members has replaced my curiosity about what the coin was and when it was made. At least I know Dad did not bring it back from the Pacific. JClark65 Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 7 / Views: 30,707

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