In 1880 the Japan Mint struck a tiny number of proof sets for presentation — and they have become the undisputed blue chips of Japanese numismatics, with individual coins bringing $170,000–$305,000. This entry covers the set and its auction history.
Key facts
- Only a handful of proof coins were produced by the Japan Mint in 1880 for presentation sets; proofs were struck for 13 denominations (Numismatic News, citing Heritage).
- The 20-yen gold proof had an original mintage of 103, with fewer than 10 believed to exist; an NGC PF64 Cameo example led Heritage’s January 2017 NYINC sale at $305,500, believed the finest extant (Numismatic News).
- From the same 2017 sale: the 10-yen gold proof (NGC PF64 Cameo, fewer than 5 known) realized $270,250; the 2-yen gold proof (NGC PR66 Cameo, one of two certified) $170,375; the 5-yen gold proof (one of two in private hands) $117,500 (Numismatic News).
- The complete offering — 12 gold coins over $100,000 each, six over $200,000 — helped Heritage’s 2017 NYINC world coin auction realize $15,625,761 (Numismatic News).
- Only twice in two decades had Year 13 proof collections reached public auction before 2017 (the Pittman sale in 1999 and the Norman Jacobs sale in 2011) (Numismatic News).