The 5,000 yen coin is a denomination of the Japanese yen used only for commemoratives struck by the

Japan Mint The is an Independent Administrative Institution of the Japanese government, responsible for producing and circulating the coins of Japan. The agency has its head office in Osaka with branches in Saitama and Hiroshima. The Japan Mint does not ...

. These are made only for collectors who purchase them directly from the mint at a premium. 5000 yen commemorative coins have historically been struck in a silver alloy since 1990. This practice changed in 2021 when gold was used for the first time for a coin celebrating 150 years of Japan's modern currency system. Measurements for the coins in terms of width and weight have remained the same except for the gold issue when these were lowered. Earlier coins were also once struck in the millions before the alloy change took place.

History

The first ''5000 yen'' coins were struck in 1990 (year 2 of Heisei) in a

sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. '' Fine silver'', which is 99.9% pure silver, i ...

alloy to commemorative three different occasions. For the Osaka Garden Exposition, coins were minted that feature a right facing bust of the goddess

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

with flowers in her hair on the obverse. The reverse of the coin meanwhile features the official logo used for the event which was in the form of a flower. Two centennials are celebrated on the other issues which include Japan's

Judiciary System The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...

and National Diet. The latter of these coins features the diet building on the obverse and "100 years since establishment of congress" on the reverse. Mintage figures for these first issues are 10,000,000 coins struck for Osaka, and 5,000,000 each for the two centennials respectfully. Only one commemorative coin was struck in 1993 which celebrates the

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

of then Crown Prince of Japan

Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession ...

to then princess Masako. These were the first 5,000 yen coins to be struck in both regular (uncirculated) and proof format, and were issued in box sets along with

500 500 may refer to: * 500 (number) * 500 BC * AD 500 Buildings and places * 500 Boylston Street of Boston * 500 Brickell in Miami * 500 Capitol Mall in Sacramento * 500 Fifth Avenue * 500 Renaissance Center, one of seven buildings in the GM Renaiss ...

and

50,000 50,000 (fifty thousand) is the natural number that comes after 49,999 and before 50,001 . Selected numbers in the range 50001–59999 50001 to 50999 * 50069 = 11 + 22 + 33 + 44 + 55 + 66 * 50400 = highly composite number * 50625 = 154, smallest ...

yen wedding commemoratives. The design chosen for the ''5000 yen'' coin depicts a pair of cranes in flight on the obverse, while the reverse has the Imperial Crest. These coins are unique to other ''5000 yen'' silver coins that have been struck up to the present as a pure silver alloy was used for this occasion. ''5000 yen'' commemorative coins were minted again in sterling silver to celebrate the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

, which were held in the Japanese city of

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

. The actual production of the coins however, took place in 1997 (9th year of Heisei) and lasted into 1998 (Heisei 10). They were then released in sets of three different series alongside 500 and 10,000 yen Nagano commemoratives. A limit of 5,000,000 coins each (133,000 for proofs) was set for the ''5000 yen'' denomination. Three different Olympic themes were used on the obverse sides of the coins as a design feature:

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

(series 1),

Biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...

(series 2), and Paralympic Skier (series 3). For the reverse a

Serow The serows ( or ) are four species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals of the genus ''Capricornis''. All four species of serow were until recently also classified under ''Naemorhedus'', which now only contains the gorals. Extant ...

is featured along with the value and date. Another 23 years passed before the Japan Mint made ''5000 yen'' commemorative coins again. In 2021 (3rd year of reiwa) the Japan Mint produced a 0.25 oz gold coin to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Japan's Modern Currency System. This coin is notable for being the first ''5000 yen'' gold coin that was reduced in both weight and size, and the first 0.25 oz gold coin ever minted by Japan. The set diameter of 30 mm and weight of 15 g that had been used for all of the prior coins was changed to 20 mm and 7.8 g for this gold issue. For a design, the obverse features the character 圓 (yen) which was used on gold one yen coins issued in 1871. On the reverse, the chosen design combines features from all of Japan's currently circulating coins (¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥50, ¥100, & ¥500). These coins were limited to 20,000 struck, and were released individually inside special holders.

List of commemoratives

*Japanese coins are read with a left to right format: :"Emperors name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 平成 → 2 → 年).

Collecting

The value of any given coin is determined by survival rate and condition as collectors in general prefer uncleaned appealing coins. Finding a worn or cleaned example isn't an issue for this denomination as they were specially made for collectors. In terms of added value, its debated within the numismatic community if breaking up modern proof sets to grade individual coins is a worthwhile investment or not.

Notes

References

External links

Commemorative coin list
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website (In English) {{Japanese currency and coinage Japanese yen coins Commemorative coins of Japan