Featuring strong luster and extremely sharp details, this 1870 10 Sen is a beautiful example of the rare Deep Scales type.
Being the first year of issue, the Osaka mint had difficulties striking the 5, 10, and 20 Sen issues from this year, particularly noticeable in the obverse dragon. Towards the end of the production run they improved their striking and dies, creating a "Deep Scales" variety. This variety is much more scare than its "Shallow Scales" counterpart - between both PCGS and NGC fewer than 30% of examples graded are of the "Deep Scales" variety.
