50 Japanese dollars and it's worth $0.54 in exchange value. That, my dear children, is why we don't get into world wars and lose. The Yen was falling in value, anyway but the war just crushed it. So this coin is pretty small for a half dollar and has a hole, both of which save money. That money goes into the production of more coins, or the increasing of debt depending on which one benefits the rich. Oh wait! That's America! Joking aside the engraving on the reverse is beautiful and the hole makes it a nice touch for those rice paddy farmers with no room in their pockets. All they need is a string and they can easily wear 1,000+ yen around their necks! It's worth about face value for the scratches and dents in the hole.
I found one of these today in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Is there anyway of knowing the date?
ReplyDeleteThe 46 on the obverse indicates 46 years after the beginning of the Shōwa period, which started in 1926. So 1926+46=1971. The two Japanese characters before the number indicate the period. Take a look at this website and see if it is any help.
Deletehttp://creounity.com/apps/time_machine/index.php?go=japan.php&lang=en