5 sen coin


The 5 sen coin was a Japanese coin worth one twentieth of a Japanese yen, as 100 sen equalled 1 yen. These coins were minted from the late 19th century until the end of World War II. Like the other denominations of sen, these coins were eventually taken out of circulation at the end of 1953. While not in circulation any more, these coins are bought and sold by numismatists for academic study, and by those with a hobby.

Composition

YearsMaterial
1870–188080% silver, 20% copper
1889–193275% copper, 25% nickel
1933–1938100% nickel
1938–194095% copper, 5% aluminium
1940–1943100% aluminium
194493% tin, 7% zinc
1945–194693% tin, 7% zinc

Circulation figures

Meiji

The following are circulation figures for five sen coins that were minted between the 3rd and 39th years of Emperor Meiji's reign. The dates all begin with the kanji characters 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 "四十二" would read as "year 24" or 1891.
Year of reignJapanese dateGregorian dateMintage
3rd三1870
4th四1871 Unknown
4th四1871
6th六1873 TY1
6th六1873 TY2
7th七1874
8th八1875 TY3
8th八1875 TY4
9th九1876
10th十1877 TY1
10th十1877 TY2
13th三十188079
22nd二十二1889
24th四十二1891
25th五十二1892 Not circulated
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
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
36th六十三1903
37th七十三1904
38th八十三1905
39th九十三1906Not circulated

Taishō

The following are circulation figures for five sen coins that were minted between the 6th and 12th year of Emperor Taishō's reign. The dates all begin with the kanji characters 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 "二十" would read as "year 12" or 1923. There are two types of varieties for year 9 coins that relate to a reduction in size and weight. The design of the coin did not change.
Year of reignJapanese dateGregorian dateMintage
6th六1917
7th七1918
8th八1919
9th九1920
9th九1920
10th十1921
11th一十1922
12th二十1923

Shōwa

The following are circulation figures for five sen coins that were minted between the 7th and 21st years of Emperor Shōwa's reign. The dates all begin with the Japanese kanji characters 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. Some of the mintages included cover more than one coin variety for a given year, the base metals are included for easier identification. 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 of reignJapanese dateGregorian dateMintage
7th七1932
8th八1933
9th九1934
10th十1935
11th一十1936
12th二十1937
13th三十1938 TY1
13th三十1938 TY2
14th四十1939
15th五十1940 TY1
15th五十1940 TY2
16th六十1941
16th六十1941
17th七十1942
18th八十1943
19th九十1944
20th十二1945
21st一十二1946

Shōwa era designs

Five different designs were used during the Shōwa era for the 5 sen coin, not including pattern coins which were never intended for circulation. As the weight and sizes were changed frequently after 1940, these designs have been listed separate with their respective information.
ImageMintedSizeWeightComments
1932
19.1mm2.63 gThis was a one year type design that is similar to the following one.
1933-1938
19.0mm2.80 gOnly four 1938 dated nickel coins are known to exist.
1938-1940
19.0mm2.80 gThe alloy was changed in 1938 to Aluminium bronze.
1940-1941
19.0mm1.20 gThe alloy was changed in 1940 to Aluminium.
1941-1942
19.0mm1.00 gReduced weight, both years have a combined mintage total.
1943
19.0mm0.80 gReduced weight.
1944
17.0mm1.95 gReduced size, alloy changed to Tin/Zinc.
1945-1946
17.0mm2.00 gFinal issue of the series.