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Surrender to modern yen · 1945–1957

Postwar Coinage Transition

Follow surrender-period bridge coins, inflation, sen withdrawal, available-material reuse, and the first regular 1-, 5-, 10-, 50-, and 100-yen families.

戦後貨幣への移行

Obverse of the Showa 21 (1946) 50 Sen of Japan Reverse of the Showa 21 (1946) 50 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

Postwar coinage began with continued low-value emergency issues and brass made from mixed military scrap. New yen denominations then appeared in stages; sen currency remained legally relevant until the 1953 adjustment law ended sub-yen use.

Identification

How to classify the object

Separate surrender bridge issues from the predecessor types of current denominations, and keep production start distinct from legal issue start.

Evidence boundary

What this page does not claim

Occupation military currency and overseas occupation issues are outside domestic coinage.

SeriesProductionLegal issueMaterialEdgeSuccessor
Large Postwar 50 Sen Brass19461946copperplainjp-p6-series-50-sen-brass-1947
Small Postwar 50 Sen Brass19471947copperplain
Postwar 1 Yen Brass19481948copperreededjp-current-1-yen-aluminum
No-Hole 5 Yen Brass19481948copperplainjp-p6-series-5-yen-holed-kaisho
Holed 5 Yen Brass, Kaisho Script19491949copperplainjp-current-5-yen-brass
Reeded-Edge 10 Yen Bronze19511953copperreededjp-current-10-yen-bronze
Plain-Edge 10 Yen Bronze19591959copperplainjp-current-10-yen-bronze
No-Hole 50 Yen Nickel19551955nickelreededjp-p6-series-50-yen-holed-nickel
Holed 50 Yen Nickel19591959nickelplainjp-current-50-yen-cupronickel
Phoenix 100 Yen Silver19571957silverreededjp-p6-series-100-yen-silver-rice
Rice-Stalk 100 Yen Silver19591959silverreededjp-current-100-yen-cupronickel
Cherry-Blossom 100 Yen Cupronickel19671967copperreededjp-current-100-yen-cupronickel

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Related Taisho–Showa references

Evidence

Sources and scope

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

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
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
Small Currency Adjustment and Fractional Payment Act, Act No. 60 of 1953 National Diet Library

Promulgation, legislative history, and legal basis for ending sub-yen currency.

Open source