When you think of old coins, you may immediately think of rusty metal specimens. However, there has been a recent finding and they were not made of metal. Instead, they made them of ceramic.
For your information, ceramic coins have been created in very special contexts. So, they have been limited to moments in history when there has been a lack of metals. Can you guess when they were used? Metal shortage during World War II is the answer.
Ceramic Coins Found In Kyoto
According to the Japan News, more than 500,000 ceramic coins were found in what was the capital of Japan for over 1,000 years, Kyoto. Since they ran out of metals during World War II, they started to make them of ceramic.
This announcement has been made by the Japan Mint. It was announced on October 9 that there had been a recent discovery of ceramic tokens. As a matter of fact, they were located in a warehouse near one of its previous mints in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City.
By now, you must be wondering what these coins were doing there. Actually, they are uncirculated. The reason why they were not used is because the war ended. So, it was not necessary to release them to the Japanese market.
How much were these uncirculated coins worth?
This cache of ceramic currency contained specimens worth 1 sen, that is a hundredth of ¥1. PGCS refers to this money as tokens in porcelain. Durability has always been an issue.
PCGS claims that the release of these porcelain coins would not start until July 1945. However, the war ended in August. Some even claim that they were only in circulation for just a single day.
Other sources state that none of these porcelain or ceramic tokens were ever issued. Anyway, they are part of the history of money in Japan and in the rest of the world. Collectors all over the world are starting to appreciate the value of these porcelain wonders.
