Bronze to wartime substitutes

Japan 1 Sen

Follow 1 sen from Meiji copper and bronze through Taishō reduction, 1938 brass and aluminum, 1941 smaller aluminum, and 1944 tin-zinc.

一銭

Obverse of the Showa 16 (1941) 1 Sen of Japan — As6673, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; deterministic crop and conversion. · Representative contextual pair

Reverse of the Showa 16 (1941) 1 Sen of Japan — As6673, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; deterministic crop and conversion. · Representative contextual pair

Core routes: 20
Issue studies: 14
Exact image pairs: 15
Indexable routes: 0

Context

Historical and monetary setting

The denomination shows the clearest wartime sequence of repeated material and weight change.

Identification

How to classify the object

Read the era date and compare diameter, mass, motif, and alloy; do not identify the metal by tone alone.

Evidence boundary

What this page does not claim

Ceramic 1 sen is unissued and is not placed in the circulation sequence.

Denomination	Yen relationship	Taisho	Showa	Postwar	Legal end
Rin	1 Rin = 1/1000 Yen	5 Rin bronze issued	none in Phase 6 national circulation	obsolete	legal use ended 1953-12-31
1 Sen	1 Sen = 1/100 Yen	small bronze type	brass and aluminum	displaced by inflation	legal use ended 1953-12-31
5 Sen	5 Sen = 1/20 Yen	large then small holed cupronickel	nickel and emergency generations	1946 tin bridge issue	legal use ended 1953-12-31
10 Sen	10 Sen = 1/10 Yen	silver then holed cupronickel	nickel and emergency generations	1946 aluminum bridge issue	legal use ended 1953-12-31
20 Sen	20 Sen = 1/5 Yen	no new regular type within normalized Phase 6 table	none	obsolete	legal use ended 1953-12-31
50 Sen	50 Sen = 1/2 Yen	reduced Phoenix silver	continued silver then postwar brass	1946 and 1947 brass bridge types	legal use ended 1953-12-31

Continue

Related Taisho–Showa references

Taisho and Showa Taishō and Shōwa Coinage Taishō Coinage Early Shōwa Prewar Coinage Wartime Japanese Coinage Emergency Coin Materials Postwar Coinage Transition

Evidence

Sources and scope

These links support the claims on this page. Source authority does not imply permission to republish source images.

Coins from the Meiji era onward Bank of Japan Currency Museum

Official specifications, first-issue years, legal-expiry dates, wartime and postwar regular types.

Open source

150 Years of the Japan Mint Japan Mint

Institutional history, Temporary Currency Act, strategic-metal substitutions, ceramic production, surrender, occupation supervision, and postwar scrap reuse.

Open source