Text "C of N" on a postal numismatic cover surrounded by coins and tokens. See "About" page for list.

Coin of Note

Knowledge, one coin at a time.

Saint Eligius, pray for us

Inverted anchor cross. A cross with slightly widened ends, with two anchor flukes coming out of the top and curving left and right, also with slightly widened ends.







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Tag: Japan

  • 1953 Japan 10 Yen

    1953 Japan 10 Yen

    A coin of rebuilding. Shōwa Era The reign of Emperor Hirohito lasted from 1926 – 1989. The era name, “Shōwa”, means “Enlightened Peace” from the Chinese Book of Documents. In World War 2, Japan joined the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. The end of the Pacific war came when Japan accepted the terms of the…

  • 1995 Japan 5 Yen

    1995 Japan 5 Yen

    An elegant, modern Japanese coin Heisei Era Last time we visited Japan, we looked at the 1915 Japan 5 Rin. That coin was issued during the Taishō era which lasted until 1926. Each emperor of Japan names the era of their reign. Here is a list of these since the “Meiji Restoration“: Today’s coin is…

  • 1915 Japan 5 Rin

    1915 Japan 5 Rin

    A beautiful early, low-denomination milled Japanese coin. This is my entry for Day 10 “J” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!J = Japan. Taishō era 1920 photo with a view of the Mitsubishi headquarters in Marunouchi, looking towards the Imperial Palace, from Wikipedia. The Meiji restoration of 1870 saw Japan move from a pre-industrial, feudal…

  • 2001 Taiwan 20 New Dollars

    2001 Taiwan 20 New Dollars

    A coin, and article, which encouraged me to learn more about the history of Taiwan. Taiwan At its closest, Taiwan is 130 Kilometres (81 Miles) off the coast of mainland China. Taiwan is 1,200km (750 miles) north of the Philippines, and 2,200km (1350km) south-west of Japan and the Korean peninsula. Tension between China and Taiwan…

  • Japan 4 Mon 1768-9

    Japan 4 Mon 1768-9

    Japan used a standard currency of “Mon” coins from the “Muromachi” period in 1336, until the early “Meiji” period in 1870. These periods are named after the shogun (emperor, or ruling family) of the time. These were cast round coins with a square hole, not dissimilar from Chinese “Cash” coins, such as this Northern Song…

  • Japan 100 Mon

    Japan 100 Mon

    Japan used similar brass coins to China for many centuries. The coins were round with a square hole, and four characters on the obverse. The Japanese coins were known as “Mon”. In the 1800s, larger coins up to 100 Mon were produced. Rather than simply scale up the coin and make it larger, the 100…