Trade coin · 1875–1877

Japan Trade Yen

The 420-grain Trade Yen was a distinct coin for East Asian commerce, intended to compete with Mexican and United States trade dollars.

貿易銀

Obverse of a Meiji 8 (1875) Trade Yen of Japan. — As6673, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; deterministic crop, background transparency, resize, and WebP conversion. · Representative image; not the exact image of every issue described on this page.

Reverse of a Meiji 8 (1875) Trade Yen of Japan. — As6673, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; deterministic crop, background transparency, resize, and WebP conversion. · Representative image; not the exact image of every issue described on this page.

Core routes: 15
Issue studies: 12
Cleared image pairs: 10
Indexable routes: 27

Context

Historical and monetary setting

The Ministry of Finance records a 1875 weight increase to match the United States trade dollar. Its purpose and standard separate it from the ordinary domestic one-yen family.

Identification

How to classify the evidence

Confirm the 貿易銀 identity, date, weight standard, design details, edge, and any post-strike chopmarks or damage.

Evidence boundary

What this page does not claim

It is not equated with an ordinary domestic one-yen issue, and chopmarks do not create a new base type.

Silver roles

Subsidiary, yen, and trade identities

Image	Series	Denominations	Purpose	Status
Not available	Early Meiji subsidiary silver	5 Sen, 10 Sen, 20 Sen, 50 Sen	domestic decimal subsidiary coinage	review_required
Representative contextual image: Obverse and reverse of an 1889 Meiji 22 one-yen silver coin.↗	Meiji Silver Yen	1 Yen	silver yen with domestic and foreign-trade contexts that changed over time	review_required
Representative contextual image: Obverse and reverse of a Meiji 8 (1875) Trade Yen of Japan.↗	Trade Yen	Trade Yen	A distinct trade coin intended to compete with Mexican silver dollars in East Asian settlement.	review_required

Continue

Related transition references

Bakumatsu and Early Meiji Coinage Foreign Silver in Japan New Currency Act of 1871 Early Meiji Gold Coinage Early Meiji Silver Coinage Early Meiji Copper and Bronze Coinage Japanese era-date guide

Evidence

Sources and scope

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

Ministry of Finance history: Trade Yen Ministry of Finance, Japan

The 1875 Trade Yen standard, purpose, and relationship to Mexican and United States trade dollars.

Open source

Early Meiji coin display records Bank of Japan Currency Museum

Identification of early gold, silver, trade, rin, and sen coinage.