Detecting in Japan

[Coins4Cheese]

Today, I got my very first Ace 250! It's way better than my old BH Tracker IV. Anyways, I thought I would make a post about how the Ace 250 handles Japanese coins, and general info. about metal detecting in Japan. Here goes.

1 yen (100% aluminium)- Reads as 10 cents.
5 yen (70% copper, 30% zinc)- Reads between 1 and 10 cents.
10 yen (95% copper, 4% zinc, 1% tin)- Reads as 10 cents
50 yen (75% copper, 25% nickel)- Reads as 5 cents
100 yen (75% copper, 25% nickel)- Reads as 5 cents
500 yen (72% copper, 20% zinc, 8% nickel)- Reads between pulltab and 1 cent.

1 yen= about 1 cent
5 yen = about 5 cents
10 yen = about 10 cents
50 yen = about 50 cents
100 yen = about $1
500 yen = about $5

Coins that are the most common: (From top to bottom)

10 yen by a HUGE margin. This is probably because they are the color of dirt, so they are lost easily.
Next is 1 yen
Than 5 yen
Than 100 yen
Than 50 yen
And finally, the humble 500 yen coin, which can make your day if you find one.


Where to detect in Japan? Well, you can pretty much metal detect any where you want to, as long as it's not private property. Places where you can detect include beaches, parks, & campgrounds, just to list a few. Places where you cannot detect include shrines, baseball Fields, and sandy, schools. Yep, you heard it. Schools. Most Japanese schools are surrounded by a gate, and usually have a person keeping watch. Most parks are a mixture of semi-manicured grass and sandy dirty, so you don't have to be too careful about digging good plugs. Look for parks that have big tree's; it probably means that the park has been around for a while and may house some pretty old coins. If you ever detect in Japan, be prepared to have people ask you constantly what you're doing. There are very few people that metal detect in Japan.

How deep are most of the coins found? Well, most of the J-clad is found anywhere from 1 inch to 4 inches. But I have found acouple modern Japanese coins 6 inches deep. I found some old Japanese cash coins that were only 2-4 inches deep though. Personally, I think it all depends on the location where you detect. I once found a bullet shell from the war 3 inches deep.

What are the condition of the coins when they come out of the ground? Well, I'll be straight forward about this. When you dig the coins up, they look like they've been through 2 world wars. Most of them are heavily corroded and have a thick layer of rock-like substance on them. Rock tumblers works perfectly to clean them. For older coins, I use electrolysis to remove the gunk. The reason why coins look like crap when they are dug up in Japan is because of the high ground mineralization, which can make a coin unrecognizable after only a few weeks.

Things to watch out for:
When detecting, DO NOT carry a double sided blade that is longer than 5.5 inches. If you are caught with one, than you can face a fine of 500,000 yen, and 3 years in jail. I wouldn't even risk using a metal gardening trowel for they can be mistaken for a knife.
During the summer, wear bug propellant, because the mosquitoes eat you alive.
Drink plenty of fluids.


Here are some pictures of some coins that I dug up. Some are cleaned, some still have their corrosion.

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[Tom_in_CA]

Good post. Nice pix. thanx Those cash coins with the square hole in the center show up a lot in various parts of the United States that had oriental immigration in the 1800s to early 1900s. They can date back to the 1600 & 1700s, but have little value, apparently. I guess so many were made, and the circulated for SO many years, that ones from the 1600s (if you can read the characters to get the dates) have shown up in ghost towns here, that didn't get their start till the 1870s or whatever. Yup! nearly 200 yrs. circulation!

Have you tried touristy beaches in Japan? If so, I'd think they'd be good, since the Japanese tend to wear high caliber gold (ie.: 24k, etc...) right?

[Saturna]

A very interesting post.


What are the oldest coins you have found, or would expect to find ?

Were there any silver coins used in Japan ?

[Coins4Cheese]

Have you tried touristy beaches in Japan? If so, I'd think they'd be good, since the Japanese tend to wear high caliber gold (ie.: 24k, etc...) right?

What are the oldest coins you have found, or would expect to find ?

Were there any silver coins used in Japan ?

The main beach that I metal detect at is Enoshima Beach. It's considered the sister beach of Miami. During the summer, it's packed. I haven't found any gold surprisingly enough. But I did find a silver ring.

My oldest coin that I found to date is "Kuan-ei-tsu-ho". They were made for over 300 years. Using a website to find minute chances in detail over the years, I've concluded that my oldest find to date is one from 1668.

Yes there were silver coins circulated in Japan. The most modern, non-commemorative silver coin was a 100 yen coin made of 60% silver made from 1957-1966. Also, when you get back to the pre-WWII days, you have the "Morgan dollars of Japan". These are large silver coins with a face value of 1 "sen". If you get really lucky, you can find some gold coins. I'm pretty sure that Japan made gold 1 yen coins, and also some gold coins from the 1600's.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the pleasure of digging up any one of these silver and gold coins.

[mlayers]

Sounds like a great place to detect with very little competition. Have you ever thought aou getting a water detector and hunt the water. I bet there would bea tn of stuff there since very few people detect. I wish you luck in finding he gold and silver.....Matt

[dano21]

nice finds.. 17th century..wow!

[Nekentros]

Please do your research before you metal detect in Japan...

Here are some resources to help you out in doing so:


Of particular importance:


CHAPTER IV Buried Cultural Property (Article 57 - Article 68)

CHAPTER V Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty and/or Natural Monuments

CHAPTER VII Penal Provisions
(Criminal Penalties)

http://www.wipo.int/tk/en/laws/pdf/japan_cultural.pdf



And here is some more info:

Of interest is the breakdown of types of Cultural Properties:

http://www.bunka.go.jp/bunkazai/pamp...n_03_ver03.pdf

[norbyx]

Well good luck detecting there. I see you found very old coins. hope to see more. I don't know the laws in japan and I hope you will be able to keep the hobby...

[U.K. Brian]

The first post in the thread is a little misleading and I doubt "Coins" meant it to come out quite as he says. The safest place to detect in the Far East is "private ground" if permission has been obtained. Unlike a few countries where having the O.K. from the landowner gives no protection against prosecution, in the main the fact that a landowner has said yes but not warned you of historical or scientific restrictions does offer some protection.