If someone offers you one thousand Japanese Yen, you might jump for joy. But don’t get too excited: in Pounds sterling, it’s only £6.34. Behind the U.S. dollar and the Euro, the Japanese Yen is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market.

It was officially adopted by the Meiji government with the “New Currency Act” of 1871, replacing the monetary system of the Tokugawa era. The word “yen” means “circle” or “round object” – likely in relation to the shape of their coins, which come in 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, 50 yen, 100 yen and 500 yen denominations. The current one-yen coin dates back to 1955 and has a young tree design intended to symbolise the healthy growth of Japan.