China Japanese Occupation Fen, 5 Fen, Chiao 1941 to 1943

Japan had military designs on China for decades, and in 1931 attacked and occupied lands north of the Great Wall. Later, in 1937, Japanese control expanded south of the Great Wall. World War II ended Japanese control in China.

This coin comes from a time toward the end of Japanese control, with Japanese dates 30 (1941), 31 (1942) and 32 (1943). Use the graphic below to figure the 30, 31, or 32 dates. The coin in our picture is year 31, expanded as 3 x 10 + 1 = 31.

Most of these coins carry low value, although recent interest in Chinese coins is pushing the values up. In general, coins with year 32 (1943) are more rare than the other dates, and if you have a year 32 coin you can double (approximately) the values below.

The denominations are all minted in aluminum and have the same pattern, but the sizes are different.

FEN: 15 mm diameter
5 FEN: 19 mm
CHIAO: 23 mm

The values do not change much with denomination. All denominations carry catalog values as follows:

worn: $1 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $6
well preserved: $10
fully uncirculated: $50
double these values for year 32

As always on CoinQuest, these catalog values must be adjusted to compute buy and sell values. See our Important Terminology page.
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