A cache of ceramic Japanese coins have resurfaced nearly 80 years after they were made late during World War II.

The Japan Mint recently announced the discovery of the hoard, which was found in a warehouse in Kyoto owned by the successor to the coins’ manufacturer, Shofu Co. Ltd.

Due to the shortage of metal as a material for coinage during the war, beginning in July 1945 about 15 million ceramic coins were manufactured, but at the end of the war, most were destroyed unused and the mintage was dubbed “phantom coins.”

The coins were manufactured by Shofu Industry Co. Ltd. (which dissolved in 1967).

In 1944, the Japan Mint contracted with the company to make patterns for clay 1-, 5- and 10-sen coins, and in July 1945 finally began making the 1-sen coins at locations in Kyoto and Seto.

Most of the coins were crushed and destroyed after the war, but enough escaped destruction that the 1-sen coin is easily obtainable in the marketplace for $25 or less.

Hoard contents, discovery

Although an investigation is still ongoing, it is expected that the hoard contains more than 500,000 1-sen ceramic coins, filling 15 wooden boxes

Shofu Inc., a dental equipment manufacturer, discovered the cache in August 2023, but the find was only publicized beginning Oct. 18, 2024.

The 1-sen coin depicts a cherry blossom on the obverse and Mount Fuji on the reverse.

The Japan Mint received the coins from the company, and presented a letter of appreciation to the company, and donated a total of 100 examples of the coins to the company that found them.

According to a translated statement from the Japan Mint, “[We] hope that the discovery of many ceramic coins this time will lead to new discoveries about the coin manufacturing situation at the end of the Pacific War. In the future, we plan to investigate the condition of the discovered ceramic coins in detail with reference to the materials remaining in the mint’s collection, and we hope to elucidate the state of production at that time in more detail.”

The face value of the coins is 1 sen, the equivalent of 0.01 yen. One yen today is worth about 0.65 cents U.S.

Kyoto is located at the southern end of Japan’s largest island, some 280 miles from Tokyo.

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