WORLD COINS - JAPAN - 10 SEN - CIRCULATION

1937 Japan 10 Sen — Shōwa 12

Nickel · Holed Type · 22 mm · 4 g

01 IDENTITY

Coin Identity

CountryJapan

Denomination10 Sen (0.10 Yen)

Calendar Year1937

Japanese EraShōwa 12

Date Inscription昭和十二年 (coin legend arranged right-to-left)

Coin TypeHoled Nickel 10 Sen

Issue FormatStandard circulation issue

Minting AuthorityJapan Mint

02 PHYSICAL PROFILE

Physical Specifications

CompositionNickel [Japan Mint]

Standard Weight4.0 g [Japan Mint]

Diameter22.0 mm [Japan Mint]

Catalogue Thickness1.7 mm [Numista N#14005; secondary type-level figure]

ShapeRound with central round hole

EdgePlain [Numista secondary catalogue]

Type Period1933–1937 [Japan Mint]

Japan Mint official sources identify this as the 1933–1937 holed nickel 10 Sen type. The nominal standard is 22 mm / 4 g. Japan Mint museum specimens show minor measured variation, including approximately 22.02 mm / 3.97 g for a 1934 specimen and 22.02 mm / 4.02 g for a 1935 specimen. Numista's 1.7 mm thickness is retained only as a secondary catalogue value.

03 DESIGN & CONTEXT

Design & Historical Context

Authority & Date Side

The issuing authority appears above and the Shōwa-era date below, with wave-pattern fields arranged on both sides of the central hole.

Value Side

The chrysanthemum appears above, the denomination is divided by the central hole, and the paulownia emblem appears below within ornamental elements.

Nickel Coinage Context

Japan Mint explains that the 1933 redesign replaced the earlier cupronickel 10 Sen and 5 Sen coins with pure-nickel issues. Nickel was strategically important, and the policy contemplated recovering coinage metal for military use in an emergency. The nickel type remained in production until it was replaced by aluminum-bronze coinage in 1938.

Archive Note

No third-party coin image is reproduced on this page. Japan Mint material is used as the primary source for type identity, production period, nominal specifications and historical context. Numista is identified separately as a secondary catalogue cross-check.

04 ISSUE & MINTAGE

Issue Information

Calendar Year1937

Japanese DateShōwa 12

Reported Mintage40,001,969 coins

Mintage Source BasisNumista N#14005 secondary catalogue cross-check

Japan Mint VerificationNickel material, holed form, 22 mm / 4 g standard and 1933–1937 production period confirmed

Issue FormatStandard circulation issue

The annual mintage above is retained as a secondary Numista catalogue figure. It is not labeled as a Japan Mint annual-production quantity unless separately verified from an official year-by-year production source.

05 COLLECTION RECORD

Archive Information

Archive IDJP-10S-1937-SHOWA-NICKEL

Coin Codejp10s37n

QR Short Codejp10s37n

QR Short URLhttps://metacoinart.com/q/jp10s37n

Canonical Path/world-coins/japan/10-sen/1933-1937-showa/1937/

Catalogue Cross-checkNumista N#14005 · Y#54 · JNDA#01-28

06 SOURCES & REFERENCES

References

01 — PRIMARY OFFICIAL COIN-SPECIFIC SOURCE

Japan Mint — Mint Museum Special Exhibition Exhibit List

Official Japan Mint exhibit records identify the 10 Sen nickel type, nickel material, holed form and 1933–1937 production period, with measured museum specimen dimensions and weights.

Open reference

02 — OFFICIAL TYPE STANDARD / HISTORICAL SOURCE

Japan Mint — 150 Years of History

Official historical material presents the Shōwa 8 (1933) 10 Sen nickel coin and the 22 mm / 4 g standard in the early-Shōwa chronology.

Open reference

03 — OFFICIAL DESIGN / MATERIAL CONTEXT

Japan Mint — History of Holed Coins

Japan Mint describes the 1933 shift to pure-nickel 10 Sen and 5 Sen coinage, the strategic-metal rationale and the design context, followed by replacement with aluminum-bronze coinage in 1938.

Open reference

04 — SECONDARY NUMISMATIC CROSS-CHECK

Numista — Japan 10 Sen, Shōwa (N#14005)

Secondary cross-check for annual mintage, 1.7 mm catalogue thickness, plain edge, inscriptions and catalogue identifiers. No Numista image, valuation table or catalogue prose is reproduced.

Open reference