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Representative issue study

Showa 23 (1948) 1 Yen Brass

The brass 1 Yen is the direct postwar predecessor to the current aluminum family.

昭和二十三年一円黄銅貨

Obverse of the Showa 23 (1948) 1 Yen of Japan Reverse of the Showa 23 (1948) 1 Yen of Japan
As6673, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; deterministic crop and conversion. · Exact dated pair
Date
昭和二十三年 (1948)
Denomination
1 Yen
Material
brass
Issue class
postwar-transitional

Context

Historical and monetary setting

It filled a new low-yen role as sen purchasing power collapsed.

Identification

How to classify the object

Confirm reeded edge, mass, diameter, brass surface, date, and characters.

Evidence boundary

What this page does not claim

Do not duplicate the modern aluminum 1 Yen series.

Issue evidence

Specifications, grading, and authentication

Mass
3.2 g
Diameter
20 mm
Hole
none
Edge
reeded
Production year
1948
Legal issue year
1948

Material-specific grading

Brass and bronze: assess color change, verdigris, spotting, cleaning, fingerprints, and strike.

Authentication

Verify weight, diameter, thickness, alloy, magnetism, hole, edge, date and character style, die alignment, and evidence of casting, plating, altered dates, fake patina, or modern reproduction. Do not use destructive testing.

Continue

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.

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
The history of the 1 yen Japan Mint

1914 Silver Yen production context, 1948 brass 1 yen, its 1950 production stop, and the 1955 aluminum successor.

Open source
File-level licensed Japan coin photographs Wikimedia Commons

Image identity and file-level reuse metadata only; historical claims are verified elsewhere.

Open source