The Lucky 5-Yen Coin

When I first traveled to Japan in 2001, I learned a little bit about Japanese currency, the yen (pronounced "en").

One thing I learned is that the 5-yen coin is considered a lucky coin. It's not worth much (roughly comparable to the U.S. nickel).

According to YesJapan.com:

Good luck
The 5 yen coin in Japanese is pronounced "go-en". This also coincidentally means "good luck". For this reason the 5 yen coin is thought to be good luck.

And, according to Associated Content.com:

The Japanese pronunciation of five yen, "go en", sounds very similar to the expression for karma or good luck. This similarity in pronunciation was sufficient in the Japanese culture to evolve into a well developed superstition. The five yen coin is believed to bring good fortune to those in possession of it.

Not that I am superstitious, but I save all my 5-yen coins from each trip to Japan and hand them out to friends (or people I want to have good luck). They all like the jesture once I explain it to them.

People can carry them in their wallet, pocket, purse or wear it on a ribbon or chain (the handy hole in the center of the coin makes this easy).