Design side
Rice, water and gear-shaped details surrounding the value 五円.
Rice, water and gear-shaped details surrounding the value 五円.
A sprouting plant, 日本国 and 平成三年.
The hole and agriculture-industry motifs are characteristic of this brass coin. Some catalogues reverse the naming of the two sides.
The 220,000 figure is a set issue quantity reported by a secondary catalogue; it is not presented as an official Japan Mint proof coin production figure. Official year-date production totals cover other finishes and must not be substituted.
Official description of the standard six-coin proof set and proof finish, from a modern edition; not evidence of the 1991 issue count.
Open reference ↗Official year-date production totals, supplied for context; not an independent proof-set count.
Open reference ↗Specifications for Japan’s standard circulation denominations. The current 500 Yen version is not the 1991 type.
Open reference ↗Collector-dealer record JNDA 06-05 for the 1991 standard proof set; reports 220,000 sets and an initial Japan Mint sale price of ¥6,180 (secondary catalogue).
Open reference ↗Individual 1991 500 Yen proof entry records 220,000 proof pieces; cross-check for the collector-set quantity, not an official issue record.
Open reference ↗