Under the Surface
A handful of coins, a submarine, and a lighter, what do they have in common? On the surface, their thread is simply that they originate from the land of the rising sun.
Strange Ties
Submarines have long captured the imagination. The stealth and intrigue cause them to appeal to both romantics and pragmatists alike. In this story, we’ll lay out three interesting objects with curious submarine connections.
By some accounts, Japan’s decision to enter WWII was the result of oil embargoes and resource shortages. Through the course of WWII, Japan would alter the composition of their coins to reflect the wartime resource needs of an island nation with insecure supply lines.
Prior to the start of the war, Japan replaced their 10 sen coins for aluminum in order to utilize their zinc for munitions, a potentially short-sighted decision.
Here we have a handful of coins from the Showa era, minted between 1940-1943. While the relative strength of aluminum made it a fine material for coinage, it too had wartime uses.
At the beginning of the war, the allies greatly underestimated Japan’s ability to design and produce modern aircraft, often ceding air superiority to Japan.
As the war progressed, allied submarines harried the Japanese merchant marine, making their resource shortage ever more dire. By the end of the war aluminum coins had ceased being minted. There were plans for tin, paper, and even porcelain coinage to make more aluminum available.
During the war, Japan repurposed one of their more unique vessels, a submarine capable of carrying aircraft. The I-400 series of submarines was capable of carrying 3 ultra-light planes with folded wings, dubbed Seiran (晴嵐) or “storm from a clear sky.” Originally designed to strike fear in distant enemies by demonstrating the reach of the Japanese Navy, the last I-400 hull built was fitted to carry fuel.
In the cabinet here we have a 1/700th scale model. In its combat configuration, the submarine would launch its planes from a catapult, then use a stowed crane to recover them after the planes landed on floats nearby.
Notice the swung-out door which seals the hangar, just barely large enough for the propellers.
While the plans for Japan’s underwater aircraft carriers were wide and lofty, only two of her class were ever commissioned, and only a handful of underwhelming missions were ever undertaken.
On the eve of an attempted surprise attack on the amassing forces of the planned Okinawa invasion, both submarines received news of Japan’s surrender and were ordered back to port.
During their retreat, the I-401 was captured by the crew of the USS Segundo, a US submarine.
The Balao class submarines were the workhorse of the WWII US Navy and the bane of the Japanese merchant marine. Even post war, these diesel-electric submarines would prove useful for decades to come.
After the war and with a new crew, the USS Segundo operated around the Pacific ocean as the US built new relationships with Japan. At one point, a crew member acquired a monogrammed lighter commemorating his service aboard the storied sub.
Bearing the sub’s unit badge as well as the vessel name and designation number, the lighter is a small token of recognition.
In this case, the final note of interest is the manufacturer of this lighter. Branded as a “High Quality Lighter” from the Penguin company, we see a traditional stainless steel flip top lighter. As with many commemorative US Navy lighters of the period, we see that this one was produced in Japan.
Bill was clearly not on the Segundo on the day that they accepted the I-401’s surrender, nor was this lighter paid for with aluminum coins. However this trio of items represent an interesting hat tip to the unique threads between this stack of coins, a sub, and a lighter.
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