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New 5-Yen Gold Coin (Coinage Act of 1897)

新5円金貨（貨幣法）（shin go-en kinka） ・ aka: 五圓金貨幣

Series
Modern gold coinage under the Coinage Act
Denomination
5 yen
Period
Authorized by the Coinage Act (Law No. 16 of 1897)

Updated: 2026-09-02

Canonical Specifications (statutory)

ItemValueTypeSources
Weight (Art. 6)4.1666gLegal provision[1],[3]
Fineness (Art. 5)900/1000Legal provision[1],[3]
Pure gold (derived from Art. 2)3.75gLegal provision[1],[3]

FACTArticle 6 of the Coinage Act fixes the weight at "1 monme 1 bu 1 rin 1 mō 1" — with the gram value — 4.1666 g — written into the statute itself.[1],[3]

FACTArticle 5 sets the alloy at 900 parts gold to 100 parts copper per thousand.[1],[3]

FACTArticle 2 provides that "2 bu of pure gold constitutes the unit of value, called the yen." Five yen therefore contains 10 bu = 1 monme = 3.75 g of pure gold (2 bu × 5).[1],[3]

INTERPRETATIONThe coin's physical form (diameter, etc.) is delegated by Article 8 to imperial ordinance, whose text this record has not yet consulted — so no diameter is stated here.[1],[3]

Visual Identification

INTERPRETATIONOfficial design descriptions (sunburst, chrysanthemum crest, etc.) belong to the form ordinance; they will be added once its text is consulted. No conjectural description is placed here.

Varieties & Related Types

FACT"New 5 yen" designates the Coinage-Act (1897) series; the earlier "old 5 yen" belongs to the separate New Currency Regulation (1871) system.[1],[3]

ESTIMATEThe old 5 yen is generally given as c. 8.33 g — exactly twice the new type's 4.1666 g. The New Currency Regulation's text is not yet among this record's consulted sources; until it is, this is not treated as a statutory fact.

Historical Context

FACTThe Coinage Act (Law No. 16 of 1897) established the coinage system under the gold standard; gold-coin fineness and weights are fixed in its articles.[1],[3]

Authentication Cautions

INTERPRETATIONDeviation from the statutory 4.1666 g / .900 fine is grounds for suspicion, but matching measurements alone cannot prove authenticity. Third-party grades assess condition and are treated as distinct from proof of genuineness.

Open Source-Acquisition Tasks

INTERPRETATION(1) the form ordinance (diameter, design), (2) the New Currency Regulation text (old-type statutory values), (3) mintage by year (Mint records) — no values are stated until each source locator is obtained.

Auction Records

No auction records confirmed for this exact coin type yet. Category-wide median prices are not shown as if they were prices for this type. Once confirmed, records will be listed here with auction house, sale, date, lot, grade, realized price (hammer vs. total), source URL, and review date.

References

  1. [1]「貨幣法・御署名原本・明治三十年・法律第十六号」（国立公文書館デジタルアーカイブ） — https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/file/155018.html（accessed: 2026-09-02）一次資料（御署名原本）。当サイトからの自動取得は 403 のため、目録情報はオーナー確認済み locator による（access_mode: CITED_LOCATOR）。
  2. [2]「貨幣法（明治30年3月29日法律第16号）」（国立国会図書館 日本法令索引） — https://hourei.ndl.go.jp/simple/detail?current=-1&lawId=0000003990（accessed: 2026-09-02）法令の書誌・沿革の正本（昭和62年法律第42号により廃止、の沿革情報を含む）。
  3. [3]「貨幣法（全文転写）」（ウィキソース） — https://ja.wikisource.org/wiki/貨幣法（accessed: 2026-09-02）条文の逐語確認に用いた community transcription。原資料（御署名原本）が公開されているため TIER A にはしない（TASK 5: 提供主体で判定）。