Coin | Silver Ounce 2020 Japanese Trade Dollar |
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Saint Helena is a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean which is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The currency of the island is the Saint Helena pound, fixed at parity with the pound sterling. The island has authorised some private mints to issue coins under its jurisdiction, which come in a variety of sizes - including in the popular silver ounce (1 oz silver) format, usually denominated as £1.
The 2019 1 oz Saint Helena Japanese Trade Dollar Silver Coin is part of a range dedicated to "trade dollars" and is inspired by the Japanese Trade Dollar of the 19th century.
The Mint says about this coin: The Japanese trade dollar was, for the most part, an experiment to enter the lucrative markets of Chinese trade and in order to encourage Japanese merchants to increase their own economic activity. The coins were equivalent to the Trade Dollars introduced two years earlier from the United States. The first coins issued in 1875 included the regnal year of 8 and the last were denoted as 10 although they may have been struck in the 11th year of the Emperor’s reign referred to as the Meiji era.
The design for Japan’s Trade Dollar carried over from the first silver Yen coins struck in 1870. The obverse side of these exceptional coins portrayed a traditional depiction of a coiled dragon holding a tamashi which is an orb or treasure sphere regarded as a special jewel said to contain supernatural power. According to myth, if a dragon loses its tamashi, it will lose its own supernatural power. The Dragon and orb were enclosed in a circle of dots and around which are inscribed the date of the coin in Kanji, the adopted logographic Chinese characters used in the Japanese writing system. |
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Obverse | |
The obverse of the coin depicts the crowned old bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Royal Diamond Diadem crown worn for her Coronation (effigy known as the "Fifth Portrait" worldwide but "Sixth Portrait" in Australia, where the Queen's portrait by Vladimir Gottwald was fifth).
The Queen also wears the Coronation Necklace; originally made for Queen Victoria in 1858, it was also worn at the coronations (as Queen's Consort) of Queen Alexandra in 1902, Queen Mary in 1911 and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen mother) in 1937.
Unlike on British coinage, the effigy is "uncouped" (includes the Queen's shoulders). In small letters on the left, the artist's initials JC (for Jody Clark).
Running continuously around the rim is the monarch's legend, the date of issue and the face value: QUEEN ELIZABETH II · ST. HELENA · ONE POUND · 2019 ·.
There is a wide rim around the effigy, decorated in Oriental fashion with a "key" pattern. |
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Reverse | |
Surrounded by an "Oriental"-style border with a "key" pattern, the reverse of the coin shows a Japanese dragon holding a treasure orb (tamashi).
Around, between the central design and the Oriental rim, the inscription THE EAST INDIA COMPANY · TRADE DOLLAR ·. |
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Reverse Inscription |
THE EAST INDIA COMPANY · TRADE DOLLAR · |
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Edge | Milled | Edge Inscription | None |
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Notes | Finish: Brilliant Uncirculated. |
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See also |
Coins issued by The East India Company and featuring Trade Dollar designs include: - 1 oz Gold Proof, British Trade Dollar, Niue 2018 - 1 oz Silver Bullion, British Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2018 - 1 oz Gold Proof, US Trade Dollar, Niue 2018 - 1 oz Silver Proof, US Trade Dollar, Niue 2018 - 1 oz Silver Bullion, US Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2018 - 1 oz Silver Proof, British Trade Dollar, Niue 2018 - 1 oz Gold Proof, Chinese Trade Dollar, Niue 2019 - 1 oz Silver Proof, Chinese Trade Dollar, Niue 2019 - 1 oz Silver Bullion, Chinese Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2019 - 1 oz Gold Proof, Japanese Trade Dollar, Niue 2019 - 1 oz Silver Proof, Japanese Trade Dollar, Niue 2019 - 1 oz Gold Proof, French Trade Dollar, Niue 2020 - 1 oz Silver Proof, French Trade Dollar, Niue 2020 - 1 oz Silver Bullion, French Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2020 - 1 oz Silver Bullion, Japanese Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2020 - 1 oz Gold Proof, Modern Chinese Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2021 - 1 oz Silver Bullion and Proof, Modern Chinese Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2021 - 1 oz Gold Proof, Modern British Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2022 - 1 oz Silver Bullion and Proof, Modern British Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2022 - 1 oz Gold Proof, Modern Japanese Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2023 - 1 oz Silver Bullion and Proof, Modern Japanese Trade Dollar, Saint Helena 2023
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