500,000 ‘phantom’ ceramic coins manufactured during WWII discovered in Kyoto

OSAKA — The Japan Mint here announced that a large number of ceramic coins manufactured due to metal shortages during World War II were discovered in a warehouse at the site of a former manufacturer in the city of Kyoto. The number of ceramic coins is expected to top 500,000.

The coins are in denominations of a single “sen” and have a diameter of 15 millimeters, with one side decorated with Mount Fuji and the other cherry blossoms. One sen is said to be worth 1/100 of a yen (1 yen is around 0.7 cents).

According to the mint, in Osaka’s Kita Ward, there was a shortage of metal used to make coins during WWII, because the material was used to create munitions. As a replacement, a total of about 15 million ceramic coins were produced in the city of Kyoto, the city of Seto in Aichi Prefecture and the town of Arita in Saga Prefecture, where the pottery industry was flourishing. However, with the end of the war, the coins were crushed and discarded without ever being circulated, and apparently called “phantom coins.”

The coins were discovered in August 2023 in the warehouse of Shofu Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of dental equipment in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward, located on the site of the former Shofu Industries, which was responsible for manufacturing the coins at the time.

Packed in a total of 15 wooden boxes, the coins were apparently found along with ceramic tea sets and plates made for export. The company’s representative seemed surprised, saying, “There are unexpected things in unexpected places.”

The mint accepted the coins, and plans to exhibit them at the Mint Museum on its premises, as well as at its Saitama and Hiroshima branches. The representative said, “The coins have a high material value. We hope this will help clarify the manufacturing situation of ceramic coins back then.”

(Japanese original by Chinatsu Ide, Osaka City News Department)