Price: $5.99
(as of Nov 26, 2024 17:00:17 UTC – Details)

The 5 yen coin (五円硬貨, Go-en kōka) is one denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in 1959 using Japanese characters known as the “new script”, and were also minted from 1948 to 1958 using “old-script” Japanese characters. Five-yen coins date to 1870 (when, due to the much higher value of the yen, they were minted in gold). The modern-day coin was first produced in 1948 with a differently styled inscription. This was changed in 1959 and the design has remained unchanged since. The obverse of the coin depicts a rice plant growing out of the water, with “five yen” written in kanji; the reverse is stamped with “Japan” and the year of issue, also in kanji, separated by sprouts of a tree. The three graphic elements of the coin represent agriculture and fisheries, the key elements of the Japanese first-sector economy. Around the central hole, there is a gear that represents industry. It is the only Japanese coin in circulation to lack Hindu-Arabic numerals on either side.