Item number: A2861

Year: AD 1945

Material: Clay

Size: 14.9 x 14.9 x 2.1 mm

Weight: 0.9 g

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2020

This is a one-sen coin that was planned for issuance by Japan in AD 1945, during the final stages of the Pacific War. Facing severe resource shortages, the Japanese government intended to use clay as the primary material for minting. However, due to Japan’s surrender in August of that year, the coin was never officially released into circulation.

The coin is notably small. Its obverse features an image of Mount Fuji partially concealed behind clouds, with the denomination “壹” (one) inscribed in kanji at the upper right. The reverse side displays a cherry blossom—a national symbol of Japan—at the centre, encircled by the inscription “大日本” (Great Japan) indicating the issuing country.

In AD 1938, following the full-scale outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese government enacted the Temporary Currency Act to regulate the types of metal used in coin production. As the war increasingly turned against Japan, the Osaka Mint, which oversaw coinage operations, began commissioning private factories in Kyoto, Aichi Prefecture, and Saga Prefecture to conduct trial minting of coins using clay as a substitute material. However, with Japan’s eventual surrender, these experimental coins were never released into circulation.

On October 9, AD 2024, the Japan Mint discovered a crate in Kyoto containing a total of 500,000 clay coins in denominations of one sen, five sen, and ten sen. The media referred to this remarkable find as the “phantom currency,” highlighting its elusive and previously undocumented status.

物件編號: A2861

年代: 公元 1945 年

材質: 陶土

尺寸: 14.9 x 14.9 x 2.1 mm

重量: 0.9 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2020

這是一枚太平洋戰爭末期的公元1945年，面臨資源枯竭的日本以陶土作為原料計畫要發行的一錢硬幣，不過當年8月日本戰敗投降並未正式發行。

錢幣的尺寸十分嬌小，正面是躲藏在雲朵背面的富士山圖像，右上角以日本漢字「壹」標示面額。錢幣背面的正中央以象徵日本的櫻花作為裝飾，周圍標示國名「大日本」。

公元1938年，隨著中日戰爭的全面爆發，日本政府通過《臨時通貨法》規範鑄造錢幣使用的金屬原料。隨著戰局走向對於日本愈加不利，負責鑄幣事務的大阪造幣廠也開始委由京都、愛知縣和佐賀縣的民間工廠以陶土為原料試鑄貨幣，但是隨著日本投降這批錢幣並未流入市場。

公元2024年10月9日，日本造幣局在京都發現一箱裝有面額：一錢、五錢和十錢，總計50萬枚的陶幣，媒體以「幻之貨幣」稱呼這次的發現。