WORLD COINS - JAPAN - 1 SEN - SHŌWA 14

1939 Japan 1 Sen — Shōwa 14

Yatagarasu Aluminum Type · official standard 17.5 mm · 0.9 g · plain edge

01 IDENTITY

Coin Identity

CountryJapan

Denomination1 Sen (0.01 Yen)

Calendar Year1939

Japanese EraShōwa 14

Date Inscription昭和十四年 (coin legend arranged right-to-left)

Coin TypeYatagarasu Aluminum 1 Sen

Issue FormatStandard circulation issue

Minting AuthorityJapan Mint

02 PHYSICAL PROFILE

Physical Specifications

CompositionAluminum 100%

Official Standard Weight0.9 g

Official Standard Diameter17.5 mm

Catalogue Diameter17.6 mm [Numista N#8949 secondary figure]

Catalogue Thickness1.70 mm [Numista N#8949 secondary figure]

ShapeRound

EdgePlain

OrientationMedal alignment [Numista secondary catalogue]

Japan Mint history and the Bank of Japan Currency Museum give the official standard as pure aluminum, 17.5 mm and 0.9 g. Japan Mint Museum measured examples are close to that standard. Numista's 17.6 mm diameter and 1.70 mm thickness are retained only as secondary catalogue values.

03 DESIGN & CONTEXT

Design & Historical Context

Yatagarasu & Date Side

The dated side uses the mythological Yatagarasu motif with the national inscription and Shōwa-era date. Japan Mint and Bank of Japan institutional sources identify Yatagarasu as the defining motif of this 1 Sen type.

Denomination & Emblem Side

The opposite side centers the 1 Sen denomination within the official emblematic design. Numista describes chrysanthemum and paulownia elements around the value.

Wartime Material Transition

Japan Mint historical material explains that copper procurement became increasingly difficult after the Temporary Currency Act, causing the 1 Sen brass coin to be replaced by a pure-aluminum coin. Japan Mint identifies this as the first use of pure aluminum for Japanese coinage.

1939 Date-Character Variants

Numista distinguishes two Shōwa 14 date variants. Type A has the left inner stroke of 四 tilted; Type B has the left inner stroke symmetric to the right inner stroke. The supplied catalogue table does not give a separate mintage for Type B, so this archive does not divide the annual total between the two variants.

Artwork & Rights Note

No third-party Numista coin photograph is reproduced. The supplied Numista excerpt credits contributor photographs but does not provide a commercial-use licence for the images used on the catalogue page, so all such images are excluded from this archive package.

04 ISSUE & MINTAGE

Issue Information

Calendar Year1939

Japanese DateShōwa 14 (昭和十四年)

Secondary Reported Mintage444,602,146 coins [Numista N#8949]

Official Type VerificationJapan Mint confirms the Yatagarasu aluminum 1 Sen production period as 1938–1940

Official Annual Mintage VerificationNot located in the consulted Japan Mint / Bank of Japan sources; secondary annual figure is not promoted to an official total

Mintage Data RuleOfficial source preferred; secondary annual figure retained only with explicit source labeling

Numista N#8949 secondary catalogue figure for the 1939-dated coin. The supplied table also lists a second 1939 date-character variety without a separate mintage; the annual total is therefore not divided by variant.

05 COLLECTION RECORD

Archive Information

Archive IDJP-1S-1939-SHOWA-YATAGARASU-AL

Coin Codejp1s39s

QR Short Codejp1s39s

QR Short URLhttps://metacoinart.com/q/jp1s39s

Canonical Path/world-coins/japan/1-sen/1938-1940-showa/1939/

Catalogue Cross-checkNumista N#8949 · Y#56 · JNDA#01-50 · Schön#31

Type BoundaryThis archive covers the 17.5 mm / 0.9 g Yatagarasu aluminum type only; other 1938 1 Sen types are outside this folder.

06 SOURCES & REFERENCES

References

01 — PRIMARY OFFICIAL SOURCE

Japan Mint — Mint Museum Special Exhibition Exhibit List

Official Japan Mint Museum exhibit records identify the Yatagarasu 1 Sen aluminum type and give its production period as 1938–1940. Measured museum specimens for the type are recorded at approximately 17.4–17.5 mm and 0.90 g.

Open reference

02 — OFFICIAL HISTORICAL SOURCE

Japan Mint — 150 Years of History

Japan Mint explains that difficulty obtaining copper led to the 1 Sen brass coin being replaced by an aluminum coin soon after the Temporary Currency Act. It identifies this as Japan's first adoption of pure aluminum as coinage material and gives the 1938 1 Sen aluminum standard as 17.5 mm and 0.9 g.

Open reference

03 — OFFICIAL INSTITUTIONAL SPECIFICATION CROSS-CHECK

Bank of Japan Currency Museum — Coins Since the Meiji Era

The Bank of Japan Currency Museum lists the wartime 1 Sen aluminum coin as aluminum 100%, 17.5 mm diameter and 0.9 g weight, with the Yatagarasu design and issue beginning in 1938.

Open reference

04 — SECONDARY NUMISMATIC CROSS-CHECK

Numista — Japan 1 Sen, Shōwa (N#8949)

Secondary cross-check for 1938–1940 dating, catalogue diameter and thickness, annual mintage figures, inscriptions, catalogue identifiers and the 1939 Type A / Type B date-character distinction. No Numista photograph, valuation table, logo or catalogue prose is reproduced.

Open reference

Independent research archive. ALL THAT CURRENCY is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Japan Mint, Bank of Japan, or Numista. External sources are linked only as identified references.