Japan to Issue Hokkaido Commemorative Coin by G-8 Summit

Japan will issue a new colorized Hokkaido commemorative silver coin featuring Japanese red-crowned cranes, a symbol of Hokkaido, flying above Hokkaido’s Lake Toya.

Japan’s Finance Minister, Fukushiro Nukaga, made the announcement Tuesday in a press conference after a cabinet meeting. Mr. Nukaga said a 1,000-yen Hokkaido commemorative coin would be issued this July in time for the Group of Eight summit, which will be held in Hokkaido.

The coin is the first in an 8-year series of 94 coins commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Local Autonomy Law, which in part, established each of Japan’s 47 prefectures. In addition to silver 1,000-yen coins, 500-yen versions will be made for each prefecture as well.

The obverse or heads side of the 1,000-yen coins will depict a design significant to each prefecture. The reverse or tails design will be identical with a crescent moon, cherry blossom flowers and snow crystals.

While the face value of the limited minted coin is 1,000-yen, its purchase price will be 6,000-yen.

Other specifications of the Hokkaido commemorative 1,000-yen coin include:

• Composition - Sterling Silver
• Weight - 31.1 g
• Diameter - 40 mm
• Mintage - 100,000
• Colors - White, black, blue green, light blue, red and green
• Official Issue Date - July 1, 2008

In December, the commemorative Hokkaido 500-yen coin will be issued as well as the coins for the Kyoto and Shimane Prefectures. The Hokkaido 500-yen coin features Lake Toya behind a former government office building. The reverse bears images of old coins.

Additional specifications of the Hokkaido commemorative 500-yen coin include:

• Composition - 75% copper, 12.5% zinc, Nickel 12.5%
• Weight - 7.1 g
• Diameter - 26.5 mm
• Mintage - To be determined
• Official Issue Date - December 2008

Images courtesy of Japan Ministry of Finance.