Japan 2016 Fukushima 47 Prefectures 1000 Yen Silver Coin

Description:

The Japan Mint is honoring the 47 Prefectures of Japan with a colorful 1,000-yen silver coin series. The history and beauty of each prefecture is captured in full color on the coin’s obverse, while each coin’s reverse features a beautifully engraved design emblematic of the 47 prefectures. The Japan Mint allocates up to 10% of the total authorized mintage of each coin for distributors in the overseas market.

The Japan 2016 Fukushima 47 Prefectures 1,000 Yen Silver Coin is struck in .9999 fine silver.

Obverse:

The gentleman on the right of the obverse is Hideyo Noguchi (野口 英世), a world-famous bacteriologist born in Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture on November 9, 1876. Noguchi was known for his work on yellow fever, syphilis and polio, among many others, though his work on syphilis at the Rockefeller Institute involved unethical human experimentation on orphans. He died in 1928 while researching yellow fever in Accra, the capital of the West African country of Ghana, after contracting the disease himself.

Noguchi’s effigy is based on a well-known photograph of the doctor.

In the background is Mt. Bandai (磐梯町), or Bandaisan, one of the most famous mountains in Japan. The Fukushima landmark is also called Aizu Fuji or Aizu Bandaisan. It is located in Inawashiro, Bandai Town and Kitashiobara Village, in the Yama District of Fukushima Prefecture.

Between Noguchi-san and Mt. Bandai on the coin is the fourth largest lake in Japan, Lake Inawashiro (猪苗代湖). Renown for its beautiful reflective waters, Inawashiro is an important tourist destination for the prefecture. It was recognized as having the best water quality of any lake in Japan four years in a row, from 2002 to 2005.

Lake Inawashiro is bordered by the cities of Aizuwakamatsu and Koriyama, as well as Inawashiro Town in the Yama District. It is located south of Mt. Bandai in the center of Fukushima Prefecture.

The inscription: 日本国 (Japan) wraps around the top of the design. In the right center, the prefecture FUKUSHIMA is inscribed in English and in the Japanese: 福島県.

Reverse:

Common reverse design for the 47 Prefecture 1000 Yen Silver Coin Series. State-of-the-Art mint technology is applied to the center of the largest snow crystal to make the numbers “47” (for the 47 Prefectures) and “60” (representing the 60th Anniversary of Enforcement of the Local Autonomy Law) appear alternately when viewed from different angles. At the bottom of the coin is the inscription: 平成28年, which denotes that the coin was issued in the 28th year of the Heisei era. The denomination 1000 Yen is presented in English and Japanese.

Coin Specifications: