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Japan (Osaka mint), proof 20 sen, Emperor Mutsuhito, Meiji year 13 (1880), extremely rare, NGC PF 62

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - World (H-O) Start Price:28,000.00 USD Estimated At:35,000.00 - 70,000.00 USD
Japan (Osaka mint), proof 20 sen, Emperor Mutsuhito, Meiji year 13 (1880), extremely rare, NGC PF 62
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This item SOLD at 2021 Nov 05 @ 14:25UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Japan (Osaka mint), proof 20 sen, Emperor Mutsuhito, Meiji year 13 (1880), extremely rare, NGC PF 62. KM-Y24; JNDA-unl. Flawless strike with faint rainbow toning splashed across the lustrous surfaces, the reverse like a sunset and the dragon on the obverse particularly well defined by the toning, with just a few faint wisps on the mirrored fields but no marks or any evidence of mishandling, a highly important, very low-mintage gem. Drawing comparisons to the famous King of Siam US proof set from the early 1800s, the fourteen-piece Japanese Meiji-13 proof set was similarly used for diplomatic purposes (presumably for presentation to heads of state) and remains surprisingly elusive, as up to 77 sets were reportedly made but no intact sets are known today. The closest to a complete set, eleven pieces, was in the John Pittman collection (David Akers auction of August 1999, lot 5152, acquired from the Farouk sale in 1954), including a box that might have been original, and a second set of eleven (but not all the same denominations as Pittman) was sold at Heritage in January 2017, both setting worldwide records and generating lots of excitement in the world of Japanese numismatics. Each denomination in the set is now a major rarity, the present denomination from a recorded mintage of only 96 pieces (presumably all proofs given as gifts and never meant for circulation) and thought to be unique by Pittman. His example, lacquered and hairlined, is now known to be one of three ever offered for public sale, with the addition of the Heritage example in PF 63, the present one being technically the same grade but with more eye-appeal in our opinion, a historical and numismatic gem for the most advanced collectors in the world. NGC #6268661-001.