1926–1937 baseline
Early Shōwa Prewar Coinage
Early Shōwa inherited Taishō bronze, cupronickel, and silver types, then introduced pure-nickel 5- and 10-sen coins before the 1938 emergency system.
昭和初期の戦前貨幣
- Core routes
- 20
- Issue studies
- 14
- Exact image pairs
- 15
- Indexable routes
- 0
Context
Historical and monetary setting
The prewar baseline matters because later material changes retained denominations while altering alloy, mass, diameter, hole, and motifs.
Identification
How to classify the object
Separate continuing Taishō types from new pure-nickel generations and from the aluminum-bronze types authorized under the Temporary Currency Act.
Evidence boundary
What this page does not claim
This route does not call 1938 and later substitute-metal pieces prewar regular types.
| Series | Denomination | Years | Material | Mass g | Diameter mm | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holed 5 Sen Nickel | 5 Sen | 1933–1937 | nickel | 2.8 | 19 | holed |
| Holed 10 Sen Nickel | 10 Sen | 1933–1937 | nickel | 4 | 22 | holed |
| Taisho–Showa 1 Sen Bronze Continuation | 1 Sen | 1916–1938 | copper | 3.75 | 23.03 | solid |
| Taisho–Showa Phoenix 50 Sen Continuation | 50 Sen | 1922–1938 | silver | 4.95 | 23.5 | solid |
| 1 Sen Brass | 1 Sen | 1938–1940 | copper | 3.75 | 23.03 | solid |
| 1 Sen Aluminum | 1 Sen | 1938–1943 | aluminum | 0.9 / 0.65 / 0.55 | 17.5 / 16 | solid |
| 1 Sen Tin-Zinc | 1 Sen | 1944–1945 | tin | 1.3 | 15 | solid |
| 5 Sen Aluminum-Bronze | 5 Sen | 1938–1940 | copper | 2.8 | 19 | holed |
| 5 Sen Aluminum | 5 Sen | 1940–1943 | aluminum | 1.2 / 1 / 0.8 | 19 | holed |
| 5 Sen Tin | 5 Sen | 1944–1946 | tin | 1.95 / 2 | 17 | holed |
| 10 Sen Aluminum-Bronze | 10 Sen | 1938–1940 | copper | 4 | 22 | holed |
| 10 Sen Aluminum | 10 Sen | 1940–1943 | aluminum | 1.5 / 1.2 / 1 | 22 | solid |
| 10 Sen Tin | 10 Sen | 1944–1946 | tin | 2.4 | 19 | holed |
| Postwar 10 Sen Aluminum | 10 Sen | 1946–1946 | aluminum | 1 | 22 | solid |
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.
Official specifications, first-issue years, legal-expiry dates, wartime and postwar regular types.
Open sourceObject-level measured examples of nickel, aluminum-bronze, aluminum, tin, and tin-zinc wartime coins.
Open source