Owner Comments:
JNDA 01-46.
Mintage (M21/1888) 25,864,939
NGC Custom set 'Japan Type Set #7460' notes:
JNDA 01-46. ‘Dragon 1 sen (Copper)’
27.87 mm diameter, copper, weight 7.13 grams.
The sen is valued at 1/100 of the yen.
The copper sen was minted non-continuously from Meiji 6 (1873) through Meiji 21 (1888). There are two basic styles of the coin. In the earlier style the dragon has ’square’ shaped scales. This set contains the later style where the dragon scales are sharp or ‘V’ shaped. The types are split in the Yeoman (Y#) system, but not in the Japanese Numismatic Dealers Association standard catalog.
The obverse features the dragon within a beaded circle, surrounded by the kanji regnal date, the issuing authority (“Dai Nippon, Great Japan”), and the denomination in western style lettering.
The reverse features the Imperial Chrysanthemum Crest centered at the top and splitting the inscription ‘100 pieces in exchange for 1 yen’. The denomination in kanji is vertically aligned and centered, surrounded by branches of paulownia foliage (to the left) and chrysanthemum foliage (to the right) which are joined by a ribbon.
Year M14 (1881) has one notable variety in the JNDA. The ‘four’ character is either large or small, with the larger variety being more scarce.