Japan Mutsuhito (Meiji) 1 Sen 1883 Year16 aUN (Patine)

Excellent bronze coin struck within a set from 1877 to 1892 (years (10 to 25). To note minor circulation wear and tear. The monetary system commencing on 1870 (the Meiji currency reform) was equivalent to 10 Rin=1 Sen and 100 Sen=1 Yen. Japan, founded (so legend holds) in 660 B.C. by a direct descendant of the Sun Goddess, was first brought into contact with the West by a storm blown Portuguese ship in 1542. European traders and missionaries proceeded to enlarge the contact until the Shogunate, sensing a military threat in the foreign presence, expelled all foreigners and restricted relations with the outside world in the 17th. century. After Commodore Perry's  a USA flotilla visited in 1854, Japan rapidly industrialized, abolished the Shogunate and established a parliamentary of government, and by the end of 19th. century achieved the status of a modern economic and military power.