2023 Japan numismatic program

Japan Mint unveiled the past few days a part of its 2023 numismatic program. This article will be regularly updated. The presentation begins as usual with traditional annual coin sets. Japan intend to mark this year its presence at World Money Fair with a special BU set.

2023 Celebration coin set (anniversary) 

This coin set consists of six types of ordinary UNC grade coins from 500 yen to 1 yen with an inscription referring to the 5th anniversary of the Reiwa era.

The imperial era that began in 2019 with the reign of Emperor Naruhito after the abdication of his father Akihito will be called “Reiwa”, a combination of two Japanese ideograms that symbolise harmony and hope.

This set contains a sterling silver “year of issue” plaque (a medal indicating the year of manufacturing) in a book-shaped case. The design of the case is inspired by the “gift box” for storing gifts. This case comes with a photo folder that can be decorated with two types of stickers.

2023 Anniversary set

Annual UNC coin set

This coin set contains six types of unused ordinary coins from 500 yen to 1 yen with a 5-year Reiwa era inscription, and an annual medal (Tando) with the word “Mizunotou”, in honour of the Chinese sign of the year 2023, also the year of manufacture of the set. The mintage of the set is announced at 150,000 sets.

Annual proof coin sets

This coin set contains six types of proof coins from 500 yen to 1 yen with a 5 years of Reiwa era inscription in a special leather case. This is the first set of BE coins with an inscription celebrating 5 years of eire Reiwa. The word “5th year of REIWA” is engraved on the reverse side of each circulating coin. In Japanese, it is written as “令和５年”, or “令和五年”. “令和” is read as “REIWA”. “五” is read as “GO”, meaning the numeric “five”. “年” is read as “Nen”, meaning “year”.

The expected mintage is 30 000 sets.

The proof “REIWA” coin set contains six types of coins ranging from the 500 yen to the 1 yen coin and a vintage plate made of pure copper (a medal with the year of production). This set is presented in a special leather case. It is the first proof coin set with an inscription celebrating the 5 years of the Reiwa era. The word “5th year of REIWA” is engraved on the reverse side of each circulating coin. In Japanese, it is written as “令和５年”, or “令和五年”. “令和” is read as “REIWA”. “五” is read as “GO”, meaning the numeric “five”. “年” is read as “Nen”, meaning “year”.

The expected mintage is 30,000 sets.

Special World Money Fair coin set:

This set is issued in a limited quantity of 500 pieces. It will only be sold at the WMF 2023 in Berlin. This set will therefore be highly sought after.

The packaging consists of a case which is illustrated with a woodcarving print, a traditional Japanese technique. The illustration is the work of HASEGAWA KONOBU and represents the Japan Mint in its early days, around 1875.

Sources: Japan Mint and NUMISMAG.