Vol. 1 No. 4 (October 1978) Issue number four leads with the sad passing of Reverend Arthur Coole, a leading Chinese numismatist. There is news on the auction of Chinese coins by Australian auction house, Spink and Son as well as an article on rare coins that to date, no one has proved the existence of. The Atami auction of 1974 is described in detail as well as some interesting information on the Homma medal. The market reflections page gives a clear indication of the prices of various coins which could be of interest to coin collectors of today.

Looking back at history and the events that brought us to where we are is a good way to learn and grow. So too in Numismatics, rediscovering past events can enlighten and educate us.  Bearing this in mind, I’ve decided to post all 12 issues of the Far East Journal, (FEJ) newsletter over the coming months on this website.

This newsletter was a created in 1978/79 by myself and a few friends who were also involved in Japanese numismatics at the time. The main contributor was feature editor Michael L. Cummings (MLC) who wrote many of the stories and articles. I could not have done this without him. Sadly, Mike passed away in 2007.  During his time in Japan Cummings wrote two English editions of a book entitled ‘Modern Japanese Coinage’, the second was published by the FEJ.

Another person I would like to mention by name, who unfortunately is also no longer with us, is Hal Drake who was senior staff writer for Pacific Stars and Stripes at the time. He wrote the article on the destruction of Military Payment Certificates (MPC) in issue No. 9. I, myself had a direct connection to MPC, having used them both in Vietnam and Japan during my time with the military and the Pacific Stars and Stripes newspaper from 1967 to 1978.  I often think if only I had known the future collectors/investors market for Military Payment Certificates, I would probably not be doing what I'm doing now!  I hope you enjoy these brief glimpses into the past in relation to Japanese numismatics.   --Herb Cook

Looking back at history and the events that brought us to where we are is a good way to learn and grow. So too in Numismatics, rediscovering past events can enlighten and educate us.  Bearing this in mind, I’ve decided to post all 12 issues of the Far East Journal, (FEJ) newsletter over the coming months on this website.

This newsletter was a created in 1978/79 by myself and a few friends who were also involved in Japanese numismatics at the time. The main contributor was feature editor Michael L. Cummings (MLC) who wrote many of the stories and articles. I could not have done this without him. Sadly, Mike passed away in 2007.  During his time in Japan Cummings wrote two English editions of a book entitled ‘Modern Japanese Coinage’, the second was published by the FEJ.

Another person I would like to mention by name, who unfortunately is also no longer with us, is Hal Drake who was senior staff writer for Pacific Stars and Stripes at the time. He wrote the article on the destruction of Military Payment Certificates (MPC) in issue No. 9. I, myself had a direct connection to MPC, having used them both in Vietnam and Japan during my time with the military and the Pacific Stars and Stripes newspaper from 1967 to 1978.  I often think if only I had known the future collectors/investors market for Military Payment Certificates, I would probably not be doing what I'm doing now!  I hope you enjoy these brief glimpses into the past in relation to Japanese numismatics.   --Herb Cook

Vol. 1 No. 1 (July 1978) In addition to announcing the first issue of FEJ, this issue has cover story about an ‘Inverted 1975 Japan Mint Set’.  This was probably the FEJ’s largest error, most readers thought, just a mint packaging error, who cares? There is also the first of a series of articles by Cummings on the ‘Monetary Disorder in Late Tokugawa Japan’. Another first ‘of a series’ is ‘Exonumia - Japanese Mint Medals’ which featured the Showa 11 (1936) medal commemorating the opening of the Osaka Mint grounds for the annual viewing of the Cherry Blossoms. This first issue has many other stories and articles that I hope you’ll find interesting.

The latest edition of the premier reference book on Japanese coins, the 2021 catalog of Japanese coins and banknotes was published in conjunction with the 18th Tokyo Coin Show on November 6th, 2019.  Published by the Japan Numismatic Dealers Association (JNDA), this 318-page masterpiece is an indispensable reference work that is profusely illustrated.