On August 7 the Osaka City Mint kicked off the production of commemorative 1,000-yen coins for the upcoming Osaka-Kansai World Expo in 2025.
One side of the coin has a full-color image of the man-made island Yumeshima, where the event will take place. On the flip side is the somewhat intestinal logo for Expo 2025 embossed with tiny grooves so that it reflects light in an array of colors.
The mint will produce 50,000 of these coins, each assigned a value of 1,000 yen. They will sell for 13,800 yen including tax.
▼ The front of the coin featuring Yumeshima
Paying 13,800 yen for something with a value of 1,000 yen printed right on it is an understandable cause for alarm, as expressed in the following online comments.
“13,800 yen for a 10,000-yen coin is a reasonable price, but not for a 1,000-yen coin.”
“Maybe the price is set so high because they’re expecting the Expo to be canceled, which would drive up its value.”
“It’s kind of ugly.”
“That’s a rip-off for a commemorative coin.”
“If the Expo fails, it would be worth a lot.”
“At least their mascot is cute.”
“I think they’re worried about ticket sales and are trying to find other avenues to make money.”
“A rip-off coin for a rip-off Expo.”
Before we go calling this a “rip-off”, let’s break down what this coin is really potentially worth. First off, the 1,000-yen designation is pretty much meaningless. Most store clerks would just give you a weird look if you tried to spend it and good luck trying to use it in a vending machine.
It is, however, made of sterling silver, and since it weighs 31.1 grams, it’d be worth about 3,100 yen from that alone. While that puts it firmly above the 1,000-yen designated value, it’s still a far cry from 13,800 yen.
▼ The back side of the coin with the logo given a spectral effect
Next, we’d need to consider its value as a collectable. It’s naturally impossible to see the future but we do have examples from the past to work off.
The last time the World Expo came to Japan was 2005 in Aichi. Back then gold 10,000-yen coins was minted and sold for 40,000 yen each. Despite that considerable mark-up, they now sell for upwards of 100,000 yen, but that’s largely because the value of gold happened to skyrocket shortly after they were made.
More recently, a gold 1,000-yen coin was minted in honor of the Rugby World Cup coming to Japan and sold for 120,000 yen each, in keeping with the price of gold at the time. However, immediately after the tournament in which Japan historically advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time ever, the coin’s price more than doubled, showing that the significance of the event can also be a major factor.
So, a silver Osaka-Kansai World Expo 2025 commemorative coin will very likely rise in value in the long-run due to the silver alone. But that being said, you’d be better off just buying regular silver at market value. Instead, the real return on this investment will rely on how memorable an event the Expo turns out to be – or possibly even not be, like some of the comments mentioned.
Another option is to simply buy the coin, enjoy it for its aesthetic craftsmanship, and keep it as a personal souvenir of this moment in time…if you’re into that kind of thing.
Sources: Expo 2025, NHK News Web, Tsuki no Kinka, Ginza Coins, My Game News Flash
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
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-- Osaka World Expo “Fist” statue stirs controversy for being “incredibly gaudy”
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2023/08/12/osaka-expo-1000-yen-coins-go-on-sale-for-the-low-price-of-13800-yen/
36 Comments
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sakurasuki
You pay 13 times for something that has face value 1000 Yen?
Yubaru
Or the silver content valued at ￥3,100, that is if you chose to melt it down and sell it at market price for silver.
I wonder who came up with the idea on pricing. It probably is costing them the silver price, plus minting costs, so what maybe half of 13,800 so they automatically doubled it thinking that because it's a "memorial" coin folks would buy it?
No thanks! I'll pass.
Mark
It is not rare, released yearly so why 13,800 ?? Still too expensive, I would never pay more than what it's worth 1,000jpy.
Bad Haircut
I'll get one as a keepsake for my son.
Chabbawanga
The mascot looks like a hemorrhoids cluster. Who put the seal of approval on that thing
shogun36
That’s a GREAT deal if I ever heard one. I’ll take 1000 coins!!!!
I wonder if they’re selling any magic beans as well?
Carupiko
Then what is a valuable commemorative coin from the last Osaka Expo in 1970 worth today?
Euro Dude
100$=low price??
Larr Flint
No, its just show how YEN depreciated with all that BOJ printing.
nosuke
What a rip off
Strangerland
Have you considered not buying one maybe?
Mr Kipling
At least its worth ¥1,000. Some people are paying ¥4,000,000+ for a Bitcoin that is worthless.
Harry_Gatto
This is the reason many will buy one and when they do it is of no concern to anyone but themselves, their business entirely.
virusrex
I seriously worry for the eyesight of the person considering Curse-from-the-Abyss-kun a cute mascot. I feel it is so badly designed that it reduces the value of the coin even without considering it a collectible.
Unfortunately the rest of the design of the coins is so bad that even that mascot does not feel out of place.
Gahan
Only a fool would pay 13x the face value of legal tender.
zulander
Even the George Best commemorative 5 pound notes are only worth x6 times face value - and at least they are legal tender for face value.
This coin is ridiculous.
Derek Grebe
A ¥1000 yen coin on sale for a low price of ¥13,000 yen?
On the other hand, not many coins have a commemorative Goatse image on the obverse.
Sven Asai
Usually everyone would call for police and justice court in such a case of extreme and multiple factor usury or rip off.
nosuke
dude, I rather invest my money in gold coins a smarter choice
Taking out the trash
13,800 that is more than you make in a week.
Taking out the trash
The last time the World Expo came to Japan was 2005 in Aichi. Back then gold 10,000-yen coins was minted and sold for 40,000 yen each. Despite that considerable mark-up, they now sell for upwards of 100,000 yen,
Only a fool posts a comment before reading the article.
Yubaru
Tell that to the person who purchased a $1.00 silver coin, at auction, for over 13 MILLION times it's face value.
Who knows, maybe 200 years from now this coin will have ￥13,000 in value, to a collector. I sure the hell wont be around, so I am not going to waste my money to find out!
Yubaru
Author's attempt at sarcasm here no doubt!
Antiquesaving
My children were given a commemorative 1972 Sapporo Olympic coin each form their grandparents!
They were supposedly "gold" turns out yes only 10% gold.
These coins cost ¥70,000 each in 1972 (the original receipt is still with the coins) but at best today you would be lucky to get ¥10,000 for both ( basically the gold value of the coins!).
This expo coin is a money looser.
Roy Sophveason
They got bamboozled then. The official commemorative coin for Sapporo 1972 given out by Japan Mint was cupronickel.
Antiquesaving
And has since dropped back down to the gold value again.
So everyone that bought one right after the event at double the price has lost around ¥50,000 or more!
TokyoLiving
Why the whining??..
Don't like the coin, don't buy it, kids.. LOOOOOL
Alongfortheride
50,000 produced is too may for it to be every worth large collector money.
Chabbawanga
Bitcoin ETF launching in the next 1-2 years. Give your 'worthless' speech to all the trillion dollar asset management firms and pension funds who will be investing.
purple_depressed_bacon
Sounds like a ripoff to me.
Sidenote: that mascot is the fugliest thing I've ever seen. What's it supposed to be, a cluster of bacteria? A virus? How does it relate to the expo?
Chico3
So pretty much, you’re looking at an average ¥3,333 per year added to the ¥40,000, between 2005 and 2023. No big deal. You can give yourself more than that each year.
garypen
It's the intestine eye monster! Run away!
garypen
It's not whining. It's mocking. Deservedly so.
餓死鬼
https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/overview/character/
The simplified one on the coin looks a bit like a Pon de Ring with eyes. Some of its other forms are interesting, maybe even cute in a "Day of the Triffids" kind of way.
CuteUsagi
The intestinal aspect looks like an MRI for daichogan and choukuchougan combined. Terrible design in my opinion.
TrevorPeace
If you're into buying precious metals, forget overpriced coins, even Canada's gold maple leaf and South Africa's rand. Stick to wafers or small bars. the silver, gold, and platinum I've bought in those forms are worth a lot more today than when I bought them. Without the fancy overpriced collectors' imagery.