General News

Japan govt to issue commemorative coin to mark 150th anniversary of railway operations

Courtesy of the Finance Ministry
The obverse, left, and reverse of a silver coin to be issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Japanese railways

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, August 6, 2022

The Finance Ministry is to issue 70,000 commemorative silver coins to mark the 150th anniversary of railway operations in Japan.

The coins, which will have a face value of ¥1,000, will each retail for ¥12,300.

Japan’s first rail service began in 1872 and operated between Shimbashi and Yokohama stations.

The coin’s obverse face features a nishiki-e colored woodblock print titled “Takanawa Tetsudo no Zu” (View of a train at Takanawa) by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, an ukiyo-e artist who was active in the late Edo period (1603-1867) and early Meiji era (1868-1912). The reverse face depicts Old Shimbashi Station, a reproduction of the first Shimbashi Station building.

The coins will be available from the Japan Mint, which will accept purchase applications — mail order only — for about three weeks from Oct. 5. The coins will be dispatched from the middle of February.