should i?
Everyday · Japan
1993 Japanese 5 yen
A brass-colored five-yen coin with a real round opening. Rice, water and a gear surround the hole on one side; the country and date appear on the other.
Flip this coin →Free to flip. Two sides. Equal chances.
The story behind the coin
The photographed reverse reads 平成五年, Heisei year 5, corresponding to 1993. On the other side, a rice stalk curves toward the opening, a gear borders the hole, and horizontal water lines sit above 五円. The reverse places 日本国 above the hole and two small sprouts beside it. For this portrait-free coin, Should I? uses the rice-and-value side as Heads and the dated side as Tails.
Which side is heads?
- Heads
- Rice stalk, gear and water lines above 五円, the five-yen denomination.
- Tails
- 日本国, two sprouts and 平成五年, the date Heisei 5.
A different coin. The same fair toss.
The artwork changes, but every virtual toss still has a 50/50 chance of heads or tails. We simulate the movement; the result is chosen independently. This is not a simulation of the physical balance of a historical coin.
Images: Rafael Pinheiro Aquino, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Cropped, background removed and resized; original colors and engraving retained. Image license ↗ View source record ↗