Ten sen coins were first minted in 1870, and like the other sen coins were made for international convenience. The Japanese government bought a mint in Hong Kong, and the machinery was established in Osaka. In The British Almanac from 1873, author John Crowdy notes that the Japanese put a lot more thought into convenience than the German Empire. These coins were minted during eight periods that spanned three different imperial eras. Two different varieties were produced in 1940, 1941, and 1943 when the coin was ultimately reduced in size. At the end of World War II, aluminium coins were produced from late 1945 into 1946. The final ten-sen coins were produced in 1946, and were eventually taken out of circulation at the end of 1953.
The following are circulation figures for ten sen coins that were minted between the 3rd, and the 45th year of Meiji's reign. The dates all begin with the Japanese symbol 明治, followed by the year of his reign the coin was minted. Each coin is read clockwise from right to left, so in the example used below "二十三" would read as "year 32" or 1899. Some of the mintages included cover more than one variety of a given coin.
"Year" ← "Number representing year of reign" ← "Emperors name"
Year of reign
Japanese date
Gregorian date
Mintage
3rd
三
1870 Shallow scales
3rd
三
1870 Deep scales
6th
六
1873
7th
七
1874
8th
八
1875
9th
九
1876
10th
十
1877
13th
三十
1880
77
18th
八十
1885
20th
十二
1887
21st
一十二
1888
24th
四十二
1891
25th
五十二
1892
26th
六十二
1893
27th
七十二
1894
28th
八十二
1895
29th
九十二
1896
30th
十三
1897
31st
一十三
1898
32nd
二十三
1899
33rd
三十三
1900
34th
四十三
1901
35th
五十三
1902
37th
七十三
1904
38th
八十三
1905
39th
九十三
1906
40th
十四
1907
41st
一十四
1908
42nd
二十四
1909
43rd
三十四
1910
44th
四十四
1911
45th
五十四
1912
Taishō
The following are circulation figures for ten sen coins that were minted between the 1st and the 15th year of Taishō's reign. The dates all begin with the Japanese symbol 大正, followed by the year of his reign the coin was minted. Each coin is read clockwise from right to left, so in the example used below "四" would read as "year 4" or 1915. Ten sen coins dated year 7 are rare, one such coin in about uncirculated condition sold for $11,500 USD in 2011.
"Year" ← "Number representing year of reign" ← "Emperors name"
Year of reign
Japanese date
Gregorian date
Mintage
1st
元
1912
2nd
二
1913
3rd
三
1914
4th
四
1915
5th
五
1916
6th
六
1917
9th
九
1920
10th
十
1921
11th
一十
1922
12th
二十
1923
14th
四十
1925
15th
五十
1926
Shōwa
The following are circulation figures for ten sen coins that were minted between the 2nd, and the 21st year of Emperor Shōwa's reign. The dates all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和, followed by the year of his reign the coin was minted. Each coin is read clockwise from right to left, so in the example used below "二十" would read as "year 12" or 1937. Coin patterns that include examples struck on porcelain are not included here as they were never issued for circulation. It is unknown how many unofficial locally made clay baked coins circulated.
"Year" ← "Number representing year of reign" ← "Emperors name"
