The 1932 ¥20 gold coin auctioned by the Finance Ministry at Tokyo FM Hall on Oct. 10.

About 300 bidders, including collectors and coin dealers, took part Oct. 10 in the first public auction of government-held gold coins from the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) eras as well as the early part of the Showa Era (1926-1989).

One of the 10 "phantom" ¥20 coins issued in 1932 but never circulated fetched a winning bid of ¥10 million in the auction, while the average price for the rarities turned out to be ¥8.7 million. One ¥2 coin, among the only 39 issued in 1877, was auctioned off for the day's highest price of ¥17 million. The auction was held at Tokyo FM Hall.

Kazuo Fukuo of the Japan Numismatic Dealers Association said the final prices were high overall because the coins attracted much attention among the bidders and because the items were accompanied by appraisals. The gold coins were once seized by the Allied Forces after the end of World War II but were later returned to the government.

The ministry plans to sell more than 32,700 gold coins in government possession through public or Internet auction by March 2008.

The Japan Times Weekly: Oct. 15, 2005
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