The Japanese Finance Ministry announced (11th May) that new gold coins will be issued in celebration of the accession of the country’s new Emperor Naruhito, who ascended the imperial throne on the 1st May.

The new coins mark the occasion which saw the official investiture of 59-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito on the day after the abdication of his father, 85-year-old Emperor Emeritus Akihito, who stepped down as emperor, citing his age and health concerns. Akihito was the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in more than 200 years. The Imperial Court held the investiture of the new Emperor Naruhito, the 126th of his line, and that of his wife, the Empress-Consort Masako, in the throne room of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and proclaimed the new Era of Reiwa. The Imperial Court also announced that the date for the emperor’s official enthronement will be held on the 22nd October 2019, at which time, the centuries-old ceremony (Sokuirei-Seiden-no-gi) acknowledging the new emperor’s reign will take place.

The obverse side of the gold coins will feature a depiction of a Phoenix and auspicious clouds, traditional symbols of the emperor. The reverse side features the chrysanthemum crest of the Imperial Family surrounded by a Japanese cherry birch and beach rose, symbols of the emperor and the empress, respectively.

A 500-yen base metal coin is also scheduled for release, both in general circulation and for inclusion in a two-coin set. The obverse side of this coin will depict the ceremonial imperial throne to be used during the enthronement, consisting of a seat on a curtained octagonal dais, and the Takamikura will be placed inside the Imperial Palace during the enthronement ritual.

The reverse is the same as that shown on the gold coins. Below, the crest is the denomination of 500-yen shown in Western numerals and the Japanese character for the yen currency.

Denom. Metal Weight Diameter Quality Maximum Mintage ¥500 Bi-metallic 7.1 g 26.5 mm Brilliant Unc. *5,000,000 ¥10,000 .999 Gold 20 g 28 mm Proof 50,000



The gold coin will not be available at financial institutions and will only be available directly from the Japan Mint via mail order.

*4,970,000 pieces of the 500-yen coin will be available from financial institutions at face value. 30,000 of the issued five million coins will be available in sets with the 10,000-yen gold coin, directly from the Japan Mint via mail order. Interested collectors in Japan can inquire about the coins from the 11th July, for delivery from October 2019.

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