One of the first issue of coins for the
Japanese yen. This coin was introduced in 1870 as part of the
Meiji government's modernization program, replacing the
Tokugawa coinage with silver 5-, 10-, 20- and 50-sen and 1-yen pieces, as well as gold 2-, 5-, 10- and 20-yen pieces. The 20 gold yen contained (on average) 33.33 grams of gold (0.9000 fine) and weighed 0.9645 ounces.
Coin: Empire of Japan (image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)