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{{Short description|Former denomination of Japanese yen}}
{{for|paper currency of the same denomination|2 yen note}}
 
{{Infobox Coin
| Country = Japan
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| Catalog Number =
| Obverse =
| Obverse Design = Dragon figure surrounded by legend.{{efn|In numismatic terminology, a "legend" is a formal inscription found around the margin of a coin.}}
| Obverse Design =
| Obverse Designer =
| Obverse Design Date =
| Reverse =
| Reverse Design = Emblem of the [[Imperial House of Japan|Imperial family]].
| Reverse Designer =
| Reverse Design Date =
}}
 
The {{nihongo|'''2 yen coin'''|二圓金貨}} was a short lived denomination of [[Japan]]ese [[yen]]. During the first year of mintage in 1870, hundreds of thousands of these new coins were struck. These figures dropped off sharply as the Japanese government looked towards silver as a trading commodity. The supply of gold bullion had also dwindled causing the demand for these coins to outpace the supply available. The public hoarded two yen coins along with other denominations of gold causing them not to circulate during the mid 1870s. Japan eventually obtained a supply of gold bullion towards the end of the century, but this came too late for the two yen coin which was last minted in 1892. Almost one hundred years later the two yen coin was officially demonetized. While not in circulation any more, these coins are bought and sold by [[numismatics]] for academic study, and by those with a [[Coin collecting|hobby]].
The {{nihongo|'''2 yen coin'''|二圓金貨}} was a short lived denomination of [[Japan]]ese [[yen]]. While not in circulation any more, two yen coins are bought and sold by [[numismatics]] for academic study, and by those with a [[Coin collecting|hobby]]. The first year of issue (1870 or year 3) is the only date that is considered collectable due to the rarity of the other dates.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kosenkaitori.info/coin/gold_coin/kyu2yen_gold.php|title=旧2圓金貨の価値と概要|work=kosenkaitori.info|accessdate=August 6, 2018}}</ref> One example of a coin dated year 13 (1880) in [[Sheldon coin grading scale#Proof Coins|PF66 condition]] sold at auction for $75,000 in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=
http://antique.office-aikawa.com/2yen-gold/|title=明治的2日圓金幣|work=antique.office-aikawa.com|accessdate=August 6, 2018}}</ref>
 
==History==
The Japanese mint was first opened in December, 1870 at [[Osaka]]. Each two yen coin was set at 900 fineness with a weight of 51.44 grains. Gold bullion was delivered from private Japanese citizens, foreigners, and the Japanese government.<ref name="Hisamitsu">{{cite book|title=Monogatari Monogatari|author=Hisamitsu Shigehira|publisher=Mainichi Shimbun|year=1976|pagepages=176-178176–178}}</ref> The overall production of gold coin declined by the mid 1870s as the Japanese government established a gold and silver double digit system. Meji's decree proclamation No. 27 set the gold and silver price ratio to 1: 16.17.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1442425|title=Monetary Theory|author=Horie Kiichi|publisher=Togoterikan|year=1927|pagepages=575-578575–578|accessdate=August 7, 2018}}</ref> With the opening of silver to trade came the [[trade dollar]], Japan issued its own version in 1875 in order compete with other currencies such as the United States.<ref name="DOPE">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eodQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA683&dq=2+yen+coin+gold&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjK95C69tncAhVrp1kKHf20CWs4ChDoAQgzMAI#vpg=onepage&q=2%20yen%20coin%20gold&f=falsePA683|title=Dictionary of political economy, Volume 3|author=Sir Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave|publisher=Macmillan and Co|year=1913|pagepages=683-684683–684|accessdate=August 6, 2018}}</ref> The low mintages of the two yen coin in the latter years coin may also be attributed to a [[Supply and demand|lack of]] gold bullion available, as thepreviously coinsminted thatgold had been mintedcoins were hoarded by the public and did not circulate.<ref>{{cite book|title=History of Japanese coins and collection guide|author=Toshi Aoyama|publisher=Bonanza|year=1982|pages=182–183}}</ref> It was reported that by 1896 a total of 151,210,000 silver pieces of all denominations of yen had been struck since 1870, verses 2,037,055 for gold.<ref name="DOPE"/>
 
Japan officially went onto the [[gold standard]] in 1897 from reserves obtained after the first [[First Sino-Japanese War|Sino-Japanese War]].<ref name="DOPE"/><ref>{{Cite book|first=Mark |last=Metzler |title=Lever of Empire: The International Gold Standard and the Crisis of Liberalism in Prewar Japan. |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |year=2006 |url=http://eh.net/bookreviews/library/1166 |isbn=0-520-24420-6}}</ref> New laws were passed that abolished the Japanese silver trade dollar, as well as the one silver yen piece. The two yen gold coin was also not among the new coins scheduled to be minted.<ref name="DOPE"/> Two yen gold coins were finally abolished as legal tender in 1988, by this time the exchange rate for gold coins to Japan's modern circulating currency as a whole was zero.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mint Bureau 125 Year History|author=Mint Bureau|year=1997}}</ref>
It was reported that by 1896 a total of 151,210,000 silver pieces of all denominations of yen had been struck since 1870, verses 2,037,055 for gold.<ref name="DOPE"/> Things changed again in 1897 when a new law was passed that abolished the silver one yen piece, and Japanese trade dollar which had been made to compete. New gold coinage was announced that only included 5, 10, and 20 yen pieces as Japan went back onto the gold standard.<ref name="DOPE"/>
 
==Circulation figures==
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'''Meiji'''
 
The following are circulation figures for the ''two yen coin'', all of which were minted between the 3rd, and 25th yearyears of [[Emperor Meiji|Meiji]]'s reign. The dates all begin with the Japanese symbol [[Meiji period|明治]] (Meiji), followed by the year of his reign the coin was minted. Each coin is read [[clockwise]] from right to left, so in the example used below "九" would read as "year 9" or 1876. It is unknown if genuine coins dated 1874 even exist as they remain "unverified". Two yen coins were struck in 1892, but none were released for circulation.
 
*"Year" ← "Number representing year of reign" ← "Emperors name" (Ex: 年 ← 九 ← 治明)
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|-
! Year of reign
! class="unsortable"| [[Japanese calendar|Japanese date]]
! [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian date]]
! Mintage
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| 五十二 <!--二十五 is the correct way to write "25" in modern Japanese. Back in 1892 though, the Kanji was reversed on coins (also known as old script Japanese).-->
| 1892
| Not circulated{{efn|name=1892twoy|Several unique coins dated 1892 are known to have been produced to display at the [[World's Columbian Exposition]].<ref name="HA2">{{cite web|url=https://coins.ha.com/itm/japan/japan-meiji-gold-proof-10-yen-year-4-1871-pr66-cameo-ngc-/a/3056-30393.s|title=Japan: Meiji gold Proof 10 Yen Year 4 (1871) PR66 Cameo|work=Heritage Auctions|accessdate=August 19, 2020}}</ref> While there are no known existing examples of two yen coins dated 1892 (year 25), they are mentioned by [[Krause Publications]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/japan-2-yen-y-10a-yr.101877-yr.91876-cuid-1166639-duid-1449504|title=Japan 2 Yen Y# 10a Yr.25(1892) None struck for circulation|work=Numismatic Guaranty Corporation|accessdate=October 21, 2021}}</ref>}}
| Not circulated<ref name="NGC1"/>
|}
 
==Collecting==
The value of any given coin is determined by survivability rate and [[Coin grading|condition]] as collectors in general prefer [[Cleaning (coinage)|uncleaned]] appealing coins. For this particular series, the only collectable coins are first year issues dated 1870 (year 3), as the rest are considered to be very rare. The date 1880 (year 13) has only ten known surviving examples out of a total mintage of less than 100.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kosenkaitori.info/coin/gold_coin/kyu2yen_gold.php|title=旧2圓金貨の価値と概要|work=kosenkaitori.info|accessdate=August 6, 2018}}</ref><ref name="year 13">{{cite web|url=http://www.coinnews.net/2008/02/25/japanese-1880-2-gold-coin-auctioned-for-321-million-3945/|title=Japanese 1880 ¥2 Gold Coin Auctioned for ¥32.1 Million|work=Coinnews.net|date=February 25, 2008|accessdate=January 21, 2020}}</ref> At least two of these coins have sold at auction; one in 2008 for $299,595 (USD), and another in 2011 for $75,000 (USD).<ref name="year 13"/><ref>{{cite web|url=
http://antique.office-aikawa.com/2yen-gold/|title=明治的2日圓金幣|work=antique.office-aikawa.com|accessdate=August 6, 2018}}</ref> Other dates such as 1876 (year 9) have also appeared, listing at $144,000 (USD) in a 2016 Japanese auction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://weixin.uteng.com/page/show/38232|title=环球拍卖网第五次拍卖开始预展|publisher=weixin.uteng.com|accessdate=August 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809025915/http://weixin.uteng.com/page/show/38232|archive-date=August 9, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
==See also==
{{Portal|Japan|Money|Numismatics}}
*[[Gold coin]]
*[[Gold as an investment]]
*[[Quarter eagle]]
 
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
 
==References==
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{{Japanese currency and coinage}}
 
[[Category:CoinsJapanese ofyen Japancoins]]
[[Category:Japanese yen]]▼
[[Category:Two-base-unit coins]]
[[Category:Gold coins]]
▲[[Category:JapaneseTwo-base-unit yencoins]]
 
{{coin-stub}}
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