December 11, 2014 – This time, the pure silver coin from the popular Japanese coin program comes from the Saitama prefecture and features Shibusawa Eiichi, an influential contributor to the First National Bank, and a bell in the city of Kawagoe, which is part of the national cultural heritage.
Japan/ 1,000 Yen/ Pure Silver/ 31.1 g/ 40 mm/ Mintage: 100,000.
Obverse design: Shibusawa Eiichi and Bell of Time
Shibusawa Eiichi was born in the present-day Chiarai-jima, Fukaya city, Saitama prefecture, on February 13th, 1840. Based in the First National Bank, he contributed to the foundation and development of about 500 companies, and also made great efforts in private diplomacy and assistance of about 600 social and public projects in the various fields like welfare and education. He passed away at the age of 91 on November 11th, 1931.
Bell of Time: Kawagoe, a city with an area of 109.16 square kilometers and a population of more than 340 thousand people, is known for buildings built in the Kurazukuri style, a traditional Japanese architectural style mainly used for warehouse, which is characterized by walls made from the clay. The city was designated as a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in December of 1999, and was selected as one of the “Top 100 Historical Sites of Beautiful Japan” in January of 2007.
The Bell of Time, a symbol of Kawagoe city, was selected as one of the “100 Soundscapes of Japan we want to hand down,” which was sponsored by the Ministry of the Environment in 1996.
Common reverse design of 1000 yen silver coin: Snow crystals, moon and cherry blossoms
Latent image technology is applied to the center of the largest snow crystal to make letters of “47” representing the number of prefectures in Japan, and “60” representing the 60th Anniversary of Enforcement of the Local Autonomy Law appear alternately when viewed from different angles.
Learn more about the Japanese 47 Prefectures Coin Program from the Japan Mint.
Or take a look at the latest coins issued in the 47 Prefectures series here.