Japan first started issuing commemorative coins in 1964 to celebrate the Tokyo Olympic Games two specially designed coins face-valued at 100 yen (US$0.98) and 1,000 yen, respectively. They would be the first in a long string of special coins celebrating events such as an Emperor’s 60th year on the throne and the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition’s 50th anniversary.

October 1 marks the 50th anniversary of the Japan’s famous bullet train lines, and so the Ministry of Finance has seen fit to put out yet another pair of coins. The first one revealed puts the legendary train lines right up there with Japan’s other iconic symbols.

The 1,000 yen Shinkansen Opening 50th Anniversary Coin is made of sterling silver and features a bullet train on the front-side gliding among bright pink cherry blossoms with the majestic Mt. Fuji in the background.

The back is a head-on view of a Shinkansen train all decked out in rainbow colors. A message proclaiming 50 years of the Shinkansen is also printed along with the current year.

Although it’s designated as a 1,000 yen coin, it’s actually made of roughly 31g of sterling silver. That material alone is worth roughly twice as much so we don’t recommend popping it in any vending machines. Then again, it’s not that you would anyway considering its 8,300 yen ($81) price tag.

The rest of the mark-up would go into the craftsmanship such as the beautiful array of 11 colours that make up the coin’s design including my personal favourite; chartreuse!

It’s a very pretty coin that’d make a nice addition to any collection. Orders are accepted through Japan Mint where more information on ordering and delivery can be found in the near future.

There’s also a 100 yen commemorative coin in the works which the Ministry of Finance will announce in more detail once all the bureaucratic stuff is out of the way. Both coins should be in the hands of collectors by the end of this year, though.

That would make them the perfect gift for the year-end holidays, but we don’t recommend giving them to any actually Shinkansen engineers. As we’ve seen before, coins are these trains’ enemy.

Source: Ministry of Finance Japan via Netlab (Japanese)