造幣局、新幹線開業５０周年記念の１００円硬貨を限定発売！

Did you know that the Japanese mint released 300,000 new ¥100 coins into circulation on April 22, 2015, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Shinkansen Bullet Trains? No?

Neither did I until a little while ago. My wife’s mom just came over and gave a set of the coins to my son.

Here’s what the Japanese mint says about these coins from their webpage: (http://www.mint.go.jp/buy-eng/international-eng/eng_shinkansen_coin_program_index.html)

“A bullet train Shinkansen, which was developed for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, has been widely known for half a century, domestically as an important infrastructure supporting the lives of the Japanese people, and internationally as one of the symbols for Japan’s high technology. On October 1st, 2014, the Shinkansen marked the 50th anniversary of its opening. We release a series of commemorative coins featuring Shinkansen to commemorate of this anniversary between 2014 and 2016. It will include one 1,000 Yen silver proof coin and nine 100 Yen clad coins.”

Since the mint only released 300,000 of these, I guess that’s why not too many people had heard about it; the mint would intentionally try not to advertise too much because people go crazy over stuff like this. As it was, according to my wife and mother-in-law, people were lining up at banks and post offices around the nation to try to get a set. I’ll bet you half a donut that the people who did line up – and were lucky enough to be able to get a set – did the “Apple Store” thing; they must have lined up from the night before. And, since each bank and post office only received a few sets, the sets were all gone within the first one minute on release date.

It seems that there were lots of disappointed people who tried to get a set but couldn’t.

These sets were virtually impossible to get if you were in Tokyo, but they were a bit easier to obtain if you lived out in the country…

The kid seems to like them.

Hokuriku Shinkansen 100 yen coin

Joetsu Shinkansen 100 Yen coin

Tokaido Shinkansen 100 yen coin

Tohoku Shinkansen 100 Yen coin

Sanyo Shinkansen 100 Yen coin

Shinkansen 100 Yen coin reverse

These coins are so cool!

So, OK, if we are going to get real geeky! Here’s a video for you!