WORLD COINS - JAPAN - 10 SEN - CIRCULATION

1943 Japan 10 Sen — Shōwa 18

Transition year · 1.2 g and 1.0 g standards

01 IDENTITY

Coin Identity

CountryJapan

Denomination10 Sen (0.10 Yen)

Calendar Year1943

Japanese EraShōwa 18

Date Inscription昭和十八年 (coin legend arranged right-to-left)

Coin TypeWartime Aluminum 10 Sen

Issue FormatStandard circulation issue

Minting AuthorityJapan Mint

02 PHYSICAL PROFILE

Physical Specifications

CompositionAluminum

Nominal / Variant WeightSee year-specific standard(s) below

Earlier reduced standard1.2 g · Continuation of the reduced wartime aluminum standard

Further-reduced standard1.0 g · Japan Mint museum specimens: about 22.00–22.04 mm / 0.98–1.00 g measured

Diameter22 mm type standard; Japan Mint museum specimens measure approximately 21.94–22.04 mm

Catalogue Thickness1.49 mm [Numista N#5438; type-level secondary figure]

ShapeRound

EdgeReeded

Japan Mint museum dimensions are specimen measurements. Numista's 1.49 mm thickness is retained only as a secondary type-level catalogue value and is not treated as an official variant-specific measurement.

03 DESIGN & CONTEXT

Design & Historical Context

Date & Authority Side

A double-petal cherry blossom is flanked by dots, with the national authority above and the Shōwa date below.

Value Side

The reverse uses the chrysanthemum, the 10 Sen denomination and paulownia foliage.

Wartime Context

Japan Mint explains that the 10 Sen and 5 Sen changed to non-holed pure-aluminum coinage in 1940. As aluminum became increasingly important for aircraft, the coin weight was reduced twice during the wartime series.

Artwork & Rights Note

Only independently composed archive text is presented. No third-party Numista photograph, valuation table, logo or copyrighted catalogue illustration is reproduced.

04 ISSUE & MINTAGE

Issue Information

Calendar Year1943

Japanese DateShōwa 18 (昭和十八年)

Earlier reduced standard — MintageIncluded with 1941 group: 944,900,000 coins

Earlier reduced standard — ScopeNumista Y#61.2 gives no separate quantity for the 1943 1.2 g entry and states it is included with year 16 (1941).

Further-reduced standard — Mintage756,000,000 coins

Further-reduced standard — ScopeNumista Y#61.3 places 756,000,000 on the 1943 1.0 g row. This remains a secondary catalogue quantity; an official year/variant production total was not located in the consulted Japan Mint sources.

Japan Mint Annual/Variant Mintage VerificationNot located in the consulted official Japan Mint sources; no secondary grouped figure is promoted to an official annual total

The mintage information above follows the supplied Numista N#5438 year/weight entries and their explicit "included with" notes. Grouped catalogue quantities are preserved with their stated scope instead of being silently assigned to a single calendar year.

05 COLLECTION RECORD

Archive Information

Archive IDJP-10S-1943-SHOWA-AL

Coin Codejp10s43s

QR Short Codejp10s43s

QR Short URLhttps://metacoinart.com/q/jp10s43s

Canonical Path/world-coins/japan/10-sen/1940-1943-showa/1943/

Catalogue Cross-checkNumista N#5438 · Y#61.2 / Y#61.3 · JNDA#01-30

Archive StatusOfficial type/specimen history documented; grouped mintage retained as secondary catalogue data

06 SOURCES & REFERENCES

References

01 — PRIMARY OFFICIAL COIN-SPECIFIC SOURCE

Japan Mint — Mint Museum Special Exhibition Exhibit Lists

Official Mint Museum records identify the wartime aluminum 10 Sen. The December 2024 list records 1940 specimens at about 22 mm / 1.50 g and 1943 specimens at about 22 mm / 0.98–1.00 g; the August 2024 revised list records a 1941 specimen at 21.98 mm / 1.19 g.

Open 1940/1943 exhibit list · Open 1941 exhibit list

02 — OFFICIAL HISTORICAL SOURCE

Japan Mint — Mint Club No. 78: History of Holed Coins

Japan Mint explains that the 10 Sen and 5 Sen changed to non-holed pure-aluminum coins in 1940 and that, as aluminum became important for aircraft, coin weight was reduced twice.

Open reference

03 — OFFICIAL INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

Bank of Japan Currency Museum — Wartime Money

The Currency Museum identifies the 1940 aluminum 10 Sen within the wartime shift from nickel and copper toward aluminum and tin under material shortages.

Open reference

04 — SECONDARY NUMISMATIC CROSS-CHECK

Numista — Japan 10 Sen, Shōwa (N#5438)

Secondary cross-check for year/weight varieties, grouped mintage entries, 22 mm type diameter, 1.49 mm catalogue thickness, reeded edge and Y/JNDA catalogue identifiers. No Numista photographs, 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.