By John Dale Beety This article originally appeared in the Heritage Blog.

Recently, I was shopping in a bookstore when I came across a most unusual display. Then again, considering this was a national chain, perhaps it’s not so unusual. Close to the shelves of manga (Japanese comics, generally sold in the U.S. as translations bound in trade-paperback format) were a variety of other products possibly of interest to the manga purchaser. I came face to face with temptation, in the form of light breadsticks dipped in chocolate.

I was not stronger than the Pocky. I bought a box to take home with me. It didn’t last the night.

Like many others in my generation, I have a taste for imported Japanese popular culture. Video games and manga are two of my particular vices. I’ve previously referenced my fondness for the video game series Final Fantasy in the blog, but I also pick up the odd manga title, such as Detective Conan, a mystery series featuring a teenaged investigator trapped in a first-grader’s body. (It’s marketed in the United States as Case Closed to avoid entanglements with a certain loincloth-wearing barbarian, but Detective Conan sounds cooler.)

Between my interest in things Japanese and my obsession with coins, perhaps it was inevitable that at some point, I would become intrigued by Japanese coinage. Unfortunately, my level of sophistication is not high; I know just enough to realize how little I actually know! That doesn’t stop me from appreciating Japanese coins in my own peculiar way, though.

I was paging through the upcoming Monthly Internet World Coin Auction and came across the auction’s small but intriguing Japanese section. There are several coins from the Ministry of Finance gold auctions; the best American comparison would be the GSA sales of silver dollars, in that a long-term government holding of its coins was offered to the public, though numerous details (method of sale, etc.) were necessarily different.

One of the visual hallmarks of the Ministry of Finance gold coins was a large-format plastic holder, with a deep red insert framing the coin and a tag with serial number and other information also enclosed. Certain dates and denominations were much more heavily represented than others; the Meiji 4 (1871 in the Western calendar) one yen gold was one of the more common dates, and there are three of them in the auction. Among 10 yen gold pieces, Meiji 42 (1909) was also a year with a large stock sold; there’s one in the auction.

A number of Ministry of Finance pieces can also be found in the Japan section of Heritage’s September 2009 Long Beach World Coin Auction. Why not take a look and see if there’s a Japanese import that interests you?

Heritage to present 2,800-lot survey of global coinage, ancient and antique, Sept. 10-13 in Long beach, CA

An auction event featuring numismatic treasures spanning the four hemispheres of globe is set to take place at Heritage’s Sept. 10-13 Long Beach, CA Signature® World Coin Auction, at the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA.

“We’ve put together a very strong, marvelously focused auction,” said Warren Tucker, Director of World Coins at Heritage Auction Galleries. “After spending a great amount of time gathering and cataloging these coins it’s very gratifying to see the great auction quality we’ve produced for this event. Even better, there are coins in here for collectors of all types and all levels.”

Leading the way for world coin aficionados is a classic and extremely rare Chinese coin, a Mint State Chihli Tael, Year 33 (1907), KM-Y74.1, L&M-438, MS63 NGC. This coin is as sculptural as they come, and carries an appeal equally strong numismatically as it artistically. As a classic and exceedingly uncommon issue of the Chinese late Empire series it is bound to be a hotly contested lot. It carries an estimate of $80,000-$120,000.

“This coin is as attractive as they come,” said Tucker. “It’s fully lustrous with a wonderful gold and gray patina along with superbly defined details on the dragon. There are a lot of collectors bound to be very excited by this coin.”

One of Latin America’s most intriguing coins, the famous Coquimbo Republic Peso 1828-TH, KM88, WR-10, Eliz-98, XF45 NGC, is certain to generate some serious bidding along with equally serious discussion as the coin presented here is an unquestionably authentic type “A” of this issue, and if you know your world coinage then you know there has long been debate over the authenticity of several examples. It carries an estimate of $30,000-$40,000.
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An Update on the famed Quartermaster Collection of rare Australian gold coins

(Sydney, Australia, 5th May 2009). The incredible Quartermaster Collection, containing many of Australia’s most valuable and highest quality gold coins, was sold on 4th of June 2009.

Featuring many of Australia’s rarest coins, the 344 lot auction was conducted by Monetarium (Australia) Pty Ltd. The total prices realized was $10,269,084 Australian Dollars ( or $8.397 Million US ).

The collection was an anthology of Australian gold currency, spanning 1852 to 1931. Tony Richardson, a director of Monetarium Pty Ltd, said, “It’s an extraordinary achievement to have assembled such a comprehensive collection of rare coins. I doubt it will ever be seen again”.

Some of the lots that went under the hammer are unique or very few are known to exist: including the excessively rare Adelaide Assay Office Ingots & Port Phillip Patterns, one of only two 1852 Five Pounds Coins and the finest quality Type 1 & Type 2 Adelaide Pounds.

For Australia, these coins are an invaluable source of recollection for this young country’s economic independence. For years, they have been the most impressive presentation of Australia’s first currency and are some of the most prized and historically significant pieces attainable for a quality numismatic portfolio. (more…)