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1 yen coin is currently the smallest denomination of Japanese yen. It has been in use since 1887 . The current design was first minted in 1955.
First One-Yen Coin
The first one-yen coin was introduced in 1887 as a 90% silver coin. Its obverse featured a
dragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
and the coin's name in Japanese and English. The reverse had a Japanese symbol within a wreath with a
chrysanthemumChrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
, a symbol of the Japanese Imperial Family above. It was minted until 1912 and a version with a change in the Japanese inscription was minted only in 1914 .
Design
The front of the coin has the figure "1" in a circle with the year of issue in
kanjiKanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
below and the reverse side has a young tree, intended to symbolize the healthy growth of Japan.
Non-monetary use
Since all 1 yen coins weigh 1 gram, they are sometimes used as weights. If placed carefully, 1 yen coins will not break surface tension and can float in water.